Aging China gives rise to new business opportunities

BEIJING -- China's fast growing aging population has prompted fresh business chances concerning old-age financial services, health care, housing and cultural industries, an official said on Saturday.

Wu Yushao, deputy head of the office of the China National Committee on Aging, said at a forum in Beijing that there were 212 million people over 60 years old in China, about one third are 60-65.

"This new generation of aging people has the desire and ability to enjoy high quality services," said Wu.

The elderly sector needs government support due to high investment, low rate of return and long payback period, he said.

It is estimated that by 2020, the over-60s will make up 19.3 percent of China's population, rising to 38.6 percent in 2050. To defuse the pressure on pension payment, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will diversify and improve pension investments, and coordinate surplus and deficit across regions to balance supply and demand, according to ministry spokesperson Li Zhong on Friday.

In the first 10 months of 2015, the pension fund had a surplus of more than 210 billion yuan ($33 billion), according to Li.

China's pension funds, which account for roughly 90 percent of the country's total social security pool, had net assets of 3.5 trillion yuan at the end of 2014.

Since 2014, an increasing number of provincial-level regions have reported pension fund deficits due to rising standards and increasing retirees.

Jianxin Pension Fund Management Corp., the first of its kind in China, was founded on Friday with a registered capital of 2.3 billion yuan, aiming to pilot market-oriented approaches to solve the aging problems.

Authorized by the State Council, 85 percent of the company's shares belong to China Construction Bank, while the rest are held by the National Council for Social Security Fund.