Alibaba’s health care subsidiary announces 1 billion yuan joint venture with six other companies
Ali Health plans to move into online health insurance
Alibaba Health Information Technology, the Hong Kong-listed health care flagship of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is entering mainland China’s growing online health insurance market through a new joint venture.
In a regulatory filing made after the close of trading on Thursday, Ali Health said it had agreed to establish an internet health insurance-related operation with six other companies through a venture with a proposed registered capital of 1 billion yuan (HK$1.19 billion).
Ali Health chief executive Wang Lei pointed out in the filing that the company aims “to build an online community where it will connect participants in the health care market of [mainland] China”.
“The company believes that through the joint venture, it will be able to participate in internet health insurance, which is a new and promising business area that will also help to align the interests of the participants in [China’s] health care market,” Wang said.
The proposed venture’s other stake holders included subsidiary Alibaba Health Technology (Beijing), Hong Kong-based China Taiping Insurance Holdings, Alibaba (China) Technology, mainland underwriter Taiping Life Insurance, electronics company Jiangsu Yuwell Technology Development, Shenzhen Baiyeyuan Investment and Shanghai Yunfeng Investment Management, in which Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma Yun has a 40 per cent shareholding.
The partners have committed to pay their joint venture’s 1 billion yuan capitalisation in cash within 30 days after being granted approval by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.