Chinese developer Greenland Hong Kong expands into China’s US$1.9 trillion aged care sector as property market slumps
- The diversification aims to help sustain growth as China’s economy slows
- Focus of its senior care business will be in first-tier cities
Hou Guangjun, chief operating officer of the company, told the South China Morning Post that first-tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were targeted as the Hong Kong-listed developer looked to tap the growing demand among the mainland rich for better health care and senior care offerings.
“As we move into health care and elderly care businesses, Greenland Hong Kong is not chasing quick returns,” he said. “This is a segment that we want to develop ourselves into a market leader because we have our own advantages.”
Greenland Hong Kong, a unit of Shanghai’s largest developer Greenland Holdings, is about to start operation of a medical institution in the city with its partners Provectus Care, an Australian elderly care company, and Shanghai International Medical Centre.
This is a segment that we want to develop ourselves into a market leader because we have our own advantages
The 50-bed medical facility focuses on Alzheimer’s disease, where cases in China are expected to rise rapidly in tandem with the ageing society.
The country’s population of retirees aged over 60 hit 230 million at the end of 2016, accounting for 16.7 per cent of the country’s total, according to official statistics.