A rendering of the Shanghai Xiehua Brain Hospital. [Photo/Jiefang Daily]
Construction on the Shanghai Xiehua Brain Hospital is nearing completion in the Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District and is expected to open around the middle of the year.
The new hospital is the first self-built hospital of Asia Pacific Medical Group (APMG) which operates nine medical facilities in China. It is also the group's most invested project.
Since 2016, APMG has invested 1 billion yuan ($148 million) in the brain hospital and the amount continues increasing as "it is expected to be a landmark 'work' of the group", according to Jonathan Jia Zhu, major shareholder of APMG and co-head of Brain Capital Private Equity LP Asia.
"Renting a venue for a hospital surely costs less than building one," Zhu said. "Such heavy asset investment results from our confidence in Shanghai, especially its advantageous resources."
APMG believes that Shanghai is one of the Chinese cities with the richest medical resources that attracts patients from across the Yangtze River Delta region and around the country.
The new hospital includes medical treatment, education, and research and industrial development, and it requires close partnerships with public hospitals, universities, research institutes and companies in the medical industry.
Shanghai's business environment is another attractive aspect for the investors.
"In my opinion, Shanghai boasts the highest level of reform and opening-up among Chinese cities," Zhu said, adding that the local government officials have been very supportive during the hospital's construction.
