Good planning can make eldercare profitable

As China presses ahead with supply-side structural reform to boost the tertiary industry and improve people's livelihoods, eldercare has become a potentially profitable business and a key factor promoting social harmony.

At the end of 2015, China had more than 222 million people above 60 years of age, or about 16.5 percent of the total population. And about 11 percent of them (24 million) were aged 80 years or above and 16 percent (37 million) were physically challenged or partially physically challenged.

The demand for special care for senior citizens is high, yet only a limited number of them (25 percent to 30 percent) can afford it. A 2014 study on old-age pension showed the average cost for a private nursing home was as high as 2,100 yuan ($320) a month while the average monthly pension of people who retired as employees of enterprises was just 2,000 yuan, and 60 percent to 70 percent of them received less than that.