Restrictions loosened on overseas ownership of hospitals

China is to allow foreign investors to wholly own hospitals in seven cities and provinces, further opening up the country's fast-growing private hospital sector.

Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan will take part in a pilot test that was launched in July, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The private healthcare sector is a magnet for investors, with the number of private hospitals rising fast in the past decade as Beijing looks to take the pressure off its state-run system.