Exclusive | Ping An Insurance to focus on medical, healthcare industry for growth as China’s ageing population worsens, co-CEO says

“The elderly care and the healthcare ecosystem are the new focus for our company,” Jessica Tan Sin-yin, co-CEO of the nation’s biggest insurer, said in an interview. “China has an ageing population and a rising middle class. We want to provide services that can match their medical and retirement needs.”

China had almost 210 million people older than 65 last year, accounting for about 15 per cent of the population, according to official data, an increase from 200 million in 2021. The greying trend is expected to worsen, according to Renmin University, straining state pension funds, elderly care facilities and medical services.

The number of citizens aged over 60 is expected to expand by an average of 10 million people per year, the university’s vice-president Du Peng said. That will push the number of senior citizens to 520 million by 2050, or 37.8 per cent of the population.

“We will be expanding our health-related businesses for the next 10 years,” she added. There are also opportunities within the middle-class population, who are willing to pay more for retirement and medical services, she added.

Ping An Insurance is looking to step up cross-selling within its fully-integrated financial network built over the past 20 years. Ping An has two listed companies providing healthcare-related services, and stakes in a bank and an asset management business.

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Inside China's Demographic Revolution

Inside China's Demographic Revolution

Through partnerships, the group can offer access to 8,000 hospital beds and 14 high-end medical centres across mainland Chinese cities. The group had 229 million retail customers within its insurance and financial services businesses as of June 30, who contributed more than 80 per cent of its operating profit in the first-half of 2023.