Circle Holdings has teamed up with Chinese investors to develop and manage a medical clinic in Shanghai, joining a wave of foreign operators seeking to capitalise on the nation’s ageing population.
The Aim-quoted company has formed a joint venture to design, build and operate 10 medical clinics throughout China in the next five years. The first will open on the site of a refurbished hotel in Shanghai in 2017, offering a range of GP, diagnostic, outpatient and treatment services aimed at wealthier patients who can take membership or pay-as-you-go treatment.
Circle’s move underscores the growing appetite by western healthcare companies to expand in China after Beijing removed a cap on foreign ownership of private hospitals in 2012. Just 7 per cent of Chinese healthcare is provided by the private sector but companies have been encouraged to expand after Beijing’s decision to extend medical insurance to private hospitals.