Finding a profitable way to look after Chinese pensioners
The mainland market for looking after the elderly is largely untapped and potentially huge
Insurers and developers have yet to find a reliable way to profit from the mainland's ageing population by providing seniors' housing and elderly care because mainlanders are not ready to pay for such premium services.
The business potential seems huge. The mainland is expected to be home to more than 300 million people aged 60 and older by 2025, up from 202 million at the end of last year, creating an industry worth trillions of yuan.
That outlook attracted a few investors a decade ago and more have joined in recent years, including the mainland's biggest insurer, China Life, and its largest developer, China Vanke.
But they are all struggling to figure out where to build such projects, what kind of services they need to provide and how much they can charge so that the business can attract enough clients and generate sustainable profits.
I haven't seen [a] business model, nor a large stable number of target clients
So far, elderly mainlanders are preferring to hold their purses tight and join the long queues for the very limited number of places available at government-subsidised elderly service centres. Most end up seeing out their days at home with relatives.