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

It usually takes a company two to three years before making profits on a new front.

Chindex wants to open many hospitals at the same time, but that could drag down its business performance in the short term. "It is very hard for public investors to be patient enough and fully appreciate the potential of China's healthcare market," Lipson said.

Compared with Chinese Internet companies that are rushing to the US market for listings, Chinese healthcare companies are not that high-profile despite their huge growth potential.

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Bruce Liu, an expert in China's healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, said: "While it would be over-generalizing to say that Chinese healthcare companies fared less well than Internet companies listed in the US, Wall Street does seem to factor in more risk adjustment toward the former."

Liu said some reasons are that China's healthcare sector is less comparable to that of the US, as well as more multifaceted and susceptible to regulatory changes.

After the Chinese government promised in March to let the market play a bigger role in the reform of the healthcare sector, the industry has experienced rapid changes.

Liu said listed Chinese medical companies will have opportunities to lead the trend of changes.

"They will uphold higher standards in local markets, access global capital as well as expertise to capture opportunities in China's healthcare space, and meet the market's needs while maximizing shareholder value," Liu said.

For Chinese companies listed overseas, they will need to handle two markets simultaneously: the one in China and the capital market on Wall Street.

Liu said that as different as these markets are, integrity and transparency will hold the key to long-term success.

China's capital market, he noted, is quite different from other bourses.

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