As the population of China ages, healthcare needs continue to increase, causing the government and investors alike to focus their attention on healthcare and the challenges and opportunities it brings. World Health Organization data suggests that Chinese people 60 and over will increase 90% by 2020, and it’s estimated that by 2050, China will have in excess of 329 million citizens aged 64 and older. To put this in perspective, that number is the sum of the populations of the nations of Germany, France, England and Japan. In addition to an aging population, there are fewer family caregivers to share the load as China’s one-child per family policy was active until 2015.

The burden of providing for senior citizen parents while earning a living and raising families will have the younger generation searching for advanced healthcare options for family members. Add to this an increasingly overweight society, a nation that has approximately 100 million diabetics, increasing salaries and expanding urbanization, and it’s clear to see that demand for investments in China’s healthcare abound.

The government realizes the current state of healthcare in China and is taking active steps to remedy the situation, starting with the Healthy China 2030 initiative. The initiative is a 15-year, forward-thinking strategic plan that highlights the need for healthy living and creating the necessary infrastructure for that lifestyle. That infrastructure will need to include biotechnology, medical research, hospitals, long-term care communities and pharmaceutical research and development facilities. China has already taken positive steps towards the plan by increasing its nationally reimbursed drug roster by an additional 300 drugs, creating more widely accessible health insurance and considering revised drug research and release policies.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company projects that by 2020, the Chinese healthcare market will top $1 trillion USD. Another component of China’s success in healthcare infrastructure development will be medical talent, from surgeons and specialists to nurses and therapists. Last year, the country graduated over 4.5 million STEM students and 30,000 science and engineering doctoral candidates.

Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group Co. sees the opportunity first-hand and has agreed to invest 70 billion yuan ($10 billion USD) in a healthcare park in Chengdu with ten hospitals and a host of related companies, paving the way for other investors to recognize the opportunities for investing in China’s healthcare. This investment follows on the heels of the company’s prior partnership with International Hospitals Group with an expected investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion USD) to construct three hospitals. Additionally, Novartis, a Swiss international pharmaceutical company, has established a solid presence in Shanghai, with its advanced scientific research center.

To find out more about investment opportunities in China’s healthcare market, contact Cornfield & Partners at info@cornfieldpartners.com or call +44 (0)20 7692 0873.