Hongkongers will be allowed to operate private retirement homes
in South China's Guangdong Province from next year under the
fourth supplement to the Closer Economic Partnership
Arrangement.
Guangdong has more than 10 million residents aged over 60, about
10 percent of its total population, but only 245 retirement homes
offering 33,000 beds. Occupancy rates are more than 90 percent
throughout the province.
In Hong Kong, the situation is even worse. The region has
840,000 people aged 65 and above, about 12 percent of its total
population. The average waiting time for a bed in a retirement home
is 30 months.
The cost to live in a public retirement home there is about
HK$2,000 (US$250) a month, while a bed in a private home can cost
as much as HK$10,000.
Homes in Hong Kong are generally more expensive than those in
Guangdong and often crowded, with four or five people having to
share a room. As a result, more and more of the region's elderly
are choosing to retire to Guangdong.
However, under the current policy, the province can be of little
help.
Currently, only private retirement homes in Guangdong are
allowed to provide beds to Hongkongers, Li Weijie, director of
Guangzhou bureau of civil affairs, said.
Public homes must first meet the needs of local people, he
said.
About 2,000 people live in retirement homes in Guangdong, mostly
in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan.
Leung Siu-Tseng, a Hong Kong man who set up a retirement home
with a local partner in Guangzhou four years ago, is optimistic
about the future of the market.
"Hong Kong people have more experience managing retirement
houses," he said.
They offer more advanced facilities and services, he said, and
as a result, elderly Hongkongers will be happy to move to
Guangdong, which will relieve the pressure on homes in the
region.
At the same time, as Guangdong people become more affluent, they
too will be able to choose from a range of high-end retirement
homes, Leung said.
More importantly, from next year Hongkongers will no longer need
a local partner and that is bound to attract more investors, he
said.
(China Daily August 8, 2007)