On 19 March 2026, the First Seminar and Project Launch of the Elderly Care Industry & Pension Finance Series, hosted by the Hong Kong Academy of Industry and Innovation (HKAII) and organised by the Shanghai Guoyan Wealth Management Research Institute, was successfully convened in Shanghai. The opening remarks were delivered by HKAII President Ge Jun; the session was moderated by Zhang Binyun, Chairman of Jianheng Medical Group and HKAII Industry Research Fellow. Yang Fan, Associate Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Zhu Haiyang, Deputy Director of the Technology Committee of the China Ageing Industry Association and HKAII Industry Research Fellow, delivered keynote speeches focusing on the development of elderly care services, smart elderly care practices, and innovations in pension finance respectively. Invited officials from the People’s Bank of China and the Shanghai Financial Regulatory Authority attended the event, alongside a panel of experts, scholars and industry representatives from research institutions, the financial sector, enterprises and industry associations.

Ge Jun introduced the development progress of HKAII, presented the guest speakers, and extended a warm welcome to all attending entrepreneurs and academics.

Based on field research, Yang Fan conducted an in-depth analysis of the structural bottlenecks facing China’s elderly care sector. He pointed out that the boundary between the silver economy and the elderly care industry remains ambiguous, while the core care segment struggles with insufficient supply alongside poor profitability. As the gap between average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy widens, demand for disability care is surging, yet notable mismatches persist between market supply and actual needs. High vacancy rates in elderly care facilities and a severe shortage of professional nursing staff further constrain industrial growth. Regarding payment mechanisms, Yang Fan emphasised that over-reliance on self-payment is unsustainable, calling for accelerated development of institutional safeguards such as long-term care insurance.

From the perspective of macro policy and industrial structure, Zhu Haiyang offered a systematic review of the elderly care sector and relevant financial support pathways. He noted that China’s elderly care market continues to expand, but remains dominated by small and micro enterprises with weak overall profitability. Policy frameworks are shifting from a security-focused model toward proactive strategies to address population ageing, with accelerated plans to build a multi-tiered elderly care service system. In this context, financial innovation plays a vital role—including exploring joint account models tailored to Chinese family structures, promoting connectivity between pension funds and housing provident fund systems, and introducing international experience in default investment mechanisms and pension strategy index products.

During the business model discussion, participants exchanged views on home-based elderly care service provision. Experts proposed that insurance institutions could act as integrated procurers or chain-leading enterprises to consolidate resources for nursing, meal assistance and health checks, improving the organisation and scalability of home care services. Meanwhile, banks and insurers could adopt asset-light collaboration models to enhance customer outreach, service integration and resource allocation efficiency. Participants also highlighted the value of platform-based operations: aggregating the frequent daily needs of elderly groups via digital service platforms enables targeted supply, lowering service costs and improving accessibility.

In the open discussion session, attendees engaged in lively exchanges on statistical standards for the elderly care industry, support pathways for financial institutions, and investment opportunities in smart elderly care. Experts acknowledged that significant improvements are still needed in industry statistical benchmarks, product standards and financial support mechanisms. Closer collaboration between industry players, financial institutions and policy research bodies will help clarify industry consensus and build more effective support systems.

Marking the opening of a dedicated research series, this seminar brought together professionals across elderly care, pension finance and smart care services. In-depth discussions on industrial bottlenecks, technological pathways and financial innovation have delivered diverse insights and practical solutions to drive high-quality development in the elderly care sector, optimise the pension finance system, and respond proactively to population ageing. The event also laid a solid foundation for future cross-sector dialogue and collaboration.

Moving forward, HKAII will partner with all stakeholders to conduct in-depth research and themed seminars on the silver economy and pension finance. We are committed to facilitating cross-industry collaboration and innovative synergy among industrial players, financial institutions and policy researchers, to jointly advance industrial progress and enhance social welfare.