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ExclusiveClub Med’s owner Fosun has a strategy to help everyone live until 121 years old: technology

  • Fosun will put 100 billion yuan of its war chest to work over the next few years to acquire technology companies that can augment its health care business

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Guo Guangchang, founder and chairman of Fosun Group, during an interview in Shanghai, on November 12, 2018. Photo:SCMP/Simon Song
Peggy Sito

Fosun International, the holding company of one of China’s biggest private-sector conglomerates, has a strategy to increase its share in the US$8.7 trillion global health care market: technology.

The Shanghai-based owner of the Club Med chain of holiday resorts and a shareholder of Cirque du Soleil said it would put its 100 billion yuan (US$14.4 billion) war chest to work, aiming to acquire more health care-related technology to augment the da Vinci surgical robot and the CAR T-cell cancer-treatment therapy in its portfolio.

“Technology advancements can improve efficiency and increase production,” said Fosun’s founder and chairman Guo Guangchang, during an interview last week with the South China Morning Post at his head office, overlooking the famous Shanghai Bund. “We will advance from our existing businesses with technology transformation. While we could not invest in every sector, we will focus on health care as it's the centre of people’s lives.”

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SCMP Graphics
SCMP Graphics

Fosun, mainly through its listed unit Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, has accelerated its health care investments in the past couple of years. Its CAR T cell therapy, a type of adoptive cell transfer, is considered one of the most advanced forms of cancer treatment.

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“Humans can live longer when cancer is no longer a threat to life, and health care can be managed with lower costs,” said Guo, who turns 52 next February. “Living till you are 121 years is no longer a dream.”

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