Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Phoenix Healthcare Group, the first mainland hospital firm listed in Hong Kong, announced late on Monday it will buy 20 per cent of UMP Healthcare Holdings for HK$180 million.
The deal is expected to complete on Thursday and True Point, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, will continue to hold 80 per cent of UMP, which delivers healthcare services in Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing and Shanghai.
In addition, Phoenix will also form a 50-50 joint venture with UMP in China’s Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to establish outpatient clinics, a contract medicine business and any other businesses the two may agree, according to the statement published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The first step for the joint venture is to set up three self-owned clinics in Beijing and then take the number to 10 or more within three years, it added.
Phoenix regards this as a strategic step in line with Chinese government’s policies to promote private capital participation in the country’s healthcare sector. It expects the establishment of a primary care network will lead to referrals to the group’s secondary and tertiary network of hospitals.
There is potential for the joint venture as a platform for future partnerships with insurance companies on the mainland as UMP now is an essential partner of insurers providing services to corporates and individuals in Hong Kong, Phoenix said.
scmp.com
