Medical sector alive, well and ready to list to fund its future

Some companies find it more attractive to list in China given higher valuations and fewer disclosure requirements. But others prefer overseas bourses for their certainty, discipline and global visibility, Liu said.

Still, Zhang from iKang said he is confident in riding the growth of China's private preventive healthcare services sector.

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The company accounted for about 12.3 percent of China's health checkup market in terms of revenue in 2013, according to research company Frost & Sullivan.

After its IPO on the Nasdaq, Zhang said he did not have imminent plans to expand overseas and that his business will focus on China in the short term.

As the government encourages preventive healthcare services, the health examination market has huge potential due to demand from increasingly health-aware residents.

China's medical examination market saw its revenues grow from 18 billion yuan in 2008 to 46.4 billion yuan in 2012, with the figure expected to reach 164.7 billion yuan in 2017.

The market also is expected to record a compound average growth rate of 28.8 percent from 2012 to 2017, according to Frost & Sullivan.

Though preventive healthcare services are now primarily provided by public hospitals, private firms are playing an increasingly active role. Recent trends indicate that private service providers' revenue will outpace that of public hospitals in the near future, according to industry insiders.