(Yicai Global) May 18 -- Chimin Pharmaceutical Co. has opened an international hospital in Boao in China's southern island province of Hainan, marking the Chinese medical equipment maker's first foray into the high-end medical services sector.

The Boao International Hospital will take advantage of preferential policies offered by the local government to accelerate the introduction of advanced medical technologies, the Zhejiang-based firm said in a statement.

Hainan offers multiple incentives unavailable in other areas of the country following the government's establishment of the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to develop international medical tourism-related industries through trial programs in February 2013.

The facility features some 560 beds and employs 11 experts, all of whom are foreign doctors, the firm said, adding that 10 of the physicians have secured three-year medical licenses from local health authorities.

Harunori Oda, a renowned Japanese expert in regenerative medicine, will serve as the hospital's president, while immunology expert Wang Suming and his team, along with medical experts from the American Institute of Minimal Invasive Surgery Ltd. (AIMIS), will also work at the hospital. 

AIMIS is a medical services provider registered in Cyprus. Under a cooperation agreement signed with Chimin Pharmaceutical last October, AIMIS will arrange US-based or other qualified professional doctors to provide medical services for patients in Cyprus and China.

Boao is a popular tourist destination, as well as the venue for the Boao Forum for Asia, China's version of the Davos World Economic Forum. The event is a high-level dialog platform on economic, social, environmental and other relevant issues for governments, enterprises and experts.
Editor: William Clegg