Update | Foreign-funded hospitals planned in seven Chinese cities or provinces
Pilot project in seven cities and provinces signals big change in investment strategy
A pilot project to set up wholly foreign-funded hospitals will be launched in seven mainland cities or provinces as part of reforms to improve services and introduce more competition in the tightly regulated health sector.
Opening the services sector to foreign investment is part of the national strategy to create more jobs and upgrade the export- and investment-reliant economy.
There’s a lot of scope for more private participation in the sector
Analysts say inviting more private players into the sector would also ease bottlenecks in medical resources, which are causing rising conflict between doctors and patients.
Overseas investors will be allowed to establish foreign-funded hospitals from scratch or through mergers and acquisitions in the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, and Jiangsu, Fujian , Guangdong, and Hainan provinces, a notice dated July 25 and put on the Ministry of Commerce's website yesterday said.
That would represent a big step forward after German health care operator Artemed Group signed a framework agreement in July to launch the mainland's first wholly foreign-funded hospital in the Shanghai free-trade zone. Local media reported 20 more foreign institutions were also hoping to enter the FTZ.
Vipul Prakash, director for manufacturing, agribusiness and services in Asia Pacific at International Finance Corp, an investment arm under the World Bank, said "the opportunity is great" for foreign and private players, while the reform would allow some people to more easily access medical services.