China’s reproductive health market worth $15 billion?
A summary of the top news in Chinese business and technology for July 13, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project newsletter, a convenient package of China’s business, political, and cultural news delivered to your inbox for free. Subscribe here.
China’s market for in vitro fertilization (IVF) was worth $670 million in 2016 and is expected to increase to $1.5 billion by 2022.
Bloomberg says: A paradox has emerged in China. As the country finally relaxes its one-child policy, many women are struggling to get pregnant. Fertility problems are related “higher stress levels accompanying economic development, pollution, late marriage and late childbirth, smoking and alcohol use.” So growing numbers of couples are seeking medical solutions: the Bloomberg article estimates the reproductive health market has a potential value of $15 billion in China.
There are currently 451 medical institutions and sperm banks in China licensed to provide reproductive care, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Yet strict regulations on IVF treatment have driven many people overseas — for example, single women are not legally permitted to freeze their eggs in China, so some choose to go abroad for such services.
- Finance
What’s on the agenda at China’s five-yearly finance meeting: Q&A / Bloomberg
China central bank adviser calls for zombie company clean-up fund / Financial Times (paywall) - Trade and investment
China June trade beats expectations on robust demand, but headwinds eyed / Reuters
China overseas investment plunges 46 percent / Caixin - FDI
Singapore warehouse giant picks Chinese bidder in Asia’s biggest buyout: sources / Bloomberg
China’s unsatisfied hunger for German companies / Deutsche Welle - Science
Beam me up, Scotty! Scientists teleport photons 300 miles into space / The Guardian
