£120m boost for healthcare sector as UK signs series of deals with China
Economy gets a shot in the arm as opportunities within the healthcare marketplace increase
The British economy is set to be boosted by more than £120m, thanks to a package of UK/Chinese healthcare deals.
This deal highlights the enormous opportunity that the Chinese healthcare market presents for British healthcare firms
Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, witnessed the final agreements being sealed in China during the Prime Minister’s three-day visit to the country in December.
The deals include:
- Sinophi Healthcare signed contracts for hospital management and hospital investment worth £120m. These include a joint venture with Huai’an First People’s Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Jiangsu Province in east China, and an agreement to build a 1,000 bed oncology hospital
- Heythorp Healthcare signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jiangsu Far East. This is for a joint venture to develop a flagship, mixed-use healthcare facility which will include elderly nursing, specialist dementia services and care training outside Jiangsu
- Healthcare UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CITIC Trust and Circle Partnership to unlock commercial deals for UK companies in areas such as primary care services, integrated care and education and training
- IXICO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Beijing Union Medical and Pharmaceutical General Corporation. They will work together to support dementia diagnosis, advance public understanding of dementia and evaluate new treatments
On the Sinophi deal, Cameron said: “This deal highlights the enormous opportunity that the Chinese healthcare market presents for British healthcare firms - set to grow by $400billion by 2017. I hope we will see many more partnerships and deals like this for British businesses in this market.”
These agreements will see UK firms exporting their expertise to China – building their businesses and investing in Chinese healthcare. Both countries will benefit from these new relationships and better trade links
Hunt added: “These agreements will see UK firms exporting their expertise to China – building their businesses and investing in Chinese healthcare. Both countries will benefit from these new relationships and better trade links.”
Estimates are that leading nations will increase spending on healthcare by 50% between 2010 and 2020 to $7.5 trillion. This demonstrates the size of the opportunity for UK firms.
Alongside this effort to improve trade with China, Hunt also announced that the UK will embark on a new stream of work with China on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR).
He said: “Drug resistant infections are a huge threat to global health and an only be dealt with by collaboration across all borders. Working with China and other countries is crucial in fighting AMR, and I am pleased that the UK will be exchanging expertise and developing new areas for action as part of a global partnership.”
Furthermore, he also outlined a new partnership with China on the care of older people, with a focus on dementia.
He said: “Both the UK and China face similar challenges in caring for ageing populations. There is a great deal that we can learn from each other in this field, and we believe UK companies have much to offer in the Chinese elderly care market.”