As the Chinese healthcare market grows at an unprecedented clip, investors should concentrate on a handful of opportunities that take advantage of economic and regulatory trends in the alluring emerging market, a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers says.
China’s healthcare market is booming, fueled in part by aggressive government spending on access and insurance coverage reforms as well as by an aging population with strong underlying economic growth. The market is expanding so quickly, however, that there are massive shortages in healthcare professionals to meet the country’s needs.
A new PwC report estimated that the Chinese government plans to train 150,000 general practitioners by 2015. However, the country currently has just 1.8 physicians and 1.7 nurses per 1,000 people. The U.S., by comparison, has 2.4 physicians and 10.8 nurses per 1,000, according to the report, titled "Investing in China’s private healthcare system."
The spike in demand and the shortage of man-power could provide the savvy investor an opportunity to sponsor technologies that help build healthcare infrastructure or allow existing healthcare providers to extend their reach.
PwC analysts listed a handful of areas in which the private sector can get involved in China’s booming healthcare market:
- Primary care clinics
- Rehabilitation centers
- Hospital construction
- Telemonitoring companies
- Healthcare information systems
"Given China’s size and the shortage of well-trained physicians, telemedicine and remote patient monitoring can help bridge the gap in healthcare by offering patients better access at reduced costs," analysts wrote.
They cautioned that there are still hurdles to investing in China, stressing the importance of understanding the intricacies of the different local markets in the country, picking the right partner and building a solid business plan.
Per-capital healthcare spending in China grew 23% between 2006 and 2009, according to another recent PwC report. The market was valued at $357 billion in 2011 and is projected to hit $1 trillion in 2020.