This seemingly positive story, however, has significant implications on personal lifestyle, healthcare, finance, and property decision making. The implications of longer life also require a fresh and informed approach by government, society, and a wide variety of commercial organisations.
Preparing for a Different Future
Good news, we’re living longer.
Caring for an ageing community
We’re all living longer in Hong Kong, which sounds like great news, until you realise how unprepared the city is for this shift in demographics. That’s why Chinachem Group are focusing on researching, designing, and developing better ways of ageing in place for our precious older generations. In this film we hear how a long running CUHK research programme is designing a better future for our elderly community.
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Chinachem Group started to focus on Hong Kong’s changing demography in years ago. Being a property developer, the need to understand the changing requirements of an ageing population was paramount. Turning to academia, the leadership commenced a long running collaboration with the CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, looking into improving the provision of high-quality housing for the city’s increasingly elderly populace.
Research driven design
Working together with the Institute’s architects and researchers, an ongoing study is being undertaken into how best to ‘age in place’, a concept of prolonging and enhancing lifestyle and health for individuals which invests in their independence. This research programme has been releasing annual reports, and 2024 will see the publication of a Residential Design Guide for Healthy Ageing in Hong Kong. Critically, this guide will be available to all, and will serve as a contemporary yardstick for developers, architects, government bodies, and of course, users and their families.
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Few studies about ageing in place have been carried out thus far in Asia, where particularly high-density living is common. When looking at Hong Kong, an emphasis needs to be placed on healthy ageing, as whilst life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, there is a rising trend of frailty and dependency. Couple this with significant income disparity, and the burden on the welfare system increases rapidly. Therefore, the private sector has an important role to play in providing sustainable options for this key sector of the population who’ve already contributed so much to society.
Looking at the bigger picture
Chinachem is in a unique position amongst developers in Hong Kong when it comes to this challenge; our business exists to create value that, in turn, is used to benefit the population. Currently, most of that population is underserved when it comes to choices of adaptable and personal elderly care options. Sitting above government provided residential care homes and services, and below expensive, bespoke, premium solutions, lies a significant and growing gap. Our studies of this shortfall, our unwavering focus on the community, and our expertise in creating homes for this market, naturally come together around the development of solutions for ageing in place.
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This was our prime motivation behind Chinachem’s 2022 investment into the Pine Care Group, one of Hong Kong’s most highly respected elderly care home operators. The experience, intellectual capital, wisdom and understanding of the market contained within this business made them highly attractive partners. Because satisfying people’s desire to grow old gracefully, takes teamwork and considerable experience, and introducing this foundational talent into the Group provides a robust platform on which to develop new and innovative products for the sector.
Pine Care
A leader in the field of aged care, Pine Care operates a portfolio of integrated residential care homes, provides day and residential care, as well as rehabilitation services, and is Hong Kong’s largest provider of Enhanced Bought Place Scheme (EBPS) services. Founded in 1989, its 600+ team look after the needs of more than 1,200 elderly citizens across twelve residential care homes and one day care centre in the city.
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Pine Care’s experience in the EBPS market, sees it poised to provide capacity for the coming release of Residential Care Vouchers (RCSV), which adopts a ‘money following the user’ principle, giving the elderly greater choice and control over their care. And this is only one example of the shifting opportunities the changing demographics of Hong Kong are creating.
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At the heart of the Pine Care offering, and a key differentiator within the market, is how their workforce approach care for the elderly. Guiding the highly trained workforce, is an understanding and compassion for the dignity and individual needs of those in their care. This, coupled with a declared aim to treat all in the same manner they’d look after own family, ensures that levels of service set Pine Care apart.
An integrated approach to senior living
Chinachem is a diverse organisation with expertise, infrastructure, training, and assets, that when looked at from a fresh angle, touch the daily lives of so many senior members of our society. So by combining talent, experience, research, and vision, an opportunity to provide a significantly improved model for ageing in place emerges. And in the GBA, where more elderly people are living alone and there is a shortage of quality residential care homes, there’s an increasing need to serve this growing sector of our communities.
Making meaningful changes takes commitment, investment, and time, but Chinachem has pledged to dedicate focus to this emerging need, creating services and products that leverage our deep understanding and experience in senior care, property management, hospitality, proptech, and training.
The landscape of our region is changing, as are we.