Health craze

14 December 2017 By Robyn Mak Follow @mak_robyn

China’s $480 bln gaming giant has quietly expanded into healthcare, where apps linking patients to doctors and services are booming. Yet competition is fierce and online models are unproven. Even for this nimble investor, rushing into hospitals could lead to injury.

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China’s We Doctor Group, an online healthcare service firm backed by Tencent, is in talks to partner with overseas hospital chains and medical companies, Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Chen told Reuters in an interview published Dec. 13.

The company is planning to raise $500 million in fresh capital ahead of an initial public offering next year, IFR reported on Nov. 29, citing people familiar with the matter. The funding round, expected to close in the first quarter of next year, would value We Doctor at more than $5 billion.

From the start of 2014 to September of 2017, Tencent has invested 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) into 33 health-related startups in China and abroad, according to an estimate by Iyiou.com, a Chinese media group.

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