Minsheng Investment seeks bigger slice of market for services for China’s rapidly ageing population
The investment firm plans to double to amount of residential space for the elderly that it manages in the coming few years
China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG) is bucking the trend of building senior living projects as the country’s population ages, and is instead looking to manage more residential properties to seek a bigger slice of the market for care for the elderly.
Mainland China’s largest non-state investment conglomerate said it would introduce new technologies, raise fresh funds and expand its service network to build a chain of senior care businesses in a market expected to top 13 trillion yuan (US$1.97 trillion).
Wang Hui, a vice-president of CMIG and chairwoman of its subsidiary CMIG Futurelife, a residential community service provider, said the company aims to manage 1.8 billion square metres of residential properties across China in the next few years, more than double the current space of 700 million square metres.
“Having a vast number of property projects under our management will lay a solid foundation for us to better develop senior care services in communities,” she told the South China Morning Post. “Financial, insurance and health care services will be melded into our business platform.”
Mainland China’s population of retirees aged above 65 is estimated to hit 330 million by 2050 from 110 million in 2010, a rate of ageing much faster than many developed economies, according to the World Health Organisation.
The market for elderly care in China is now worth about 4 trillion yuan, according to Wang.