One billion yuan investment in private healthcare for Shenzhen

The South China Morning Post reports that a Hong Kong consortium led by the territory’s former finance minister Antony Leung Kam-chung 梁锦松 plans to invest at least 1 billion yuan ($145 million) into the Shenzhen-based Best Unimed Medical Group, a hospital operator. Best Unimed was established last year, with more than 300 doctors who charge a minimum consultation fee of 500 yuan. The new investment in the company will allow it “to attract Hong Kong doctors to serve at two new hospitals and about 20 clinics in Guangdong by offering them insurance coverage aimed at protecting them from threatening tactics commonly used by mainland patients seeking compensation.”

In March, Best Unimed Medical Group announced (in Chinese) a cooperative project with Microsoft and the state finance group CITIC to roll out a system for managing medical records and providing health guidance and facilitating communication to patients.

The South China Morning Post report connects the new investment plans with the Greater Bay Area plan announced in March by Premier Li Keqiang, which is designed to integrate the economies and infrastructure projects of the cities of the Pearl River Delta area, including Hong Kong.

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