Foreign investors eye senior housing and care market

While the money might be coming in and the regulations may be favorable, foreign investors face daunting cultural barriers.

For hundreds of years, Chinese family tradition has put it upon children to take care of their elderly parents.

The notion of filial piety has carried on in modern times: In 1996 the government set out a policy that required children to take care of their aged parents.

But as more and more families opt to live in dual-income households and as the pressures put on families by the family planning policy increase, many children are now left to take care of both their parents as well as four grandparents — a concept known as the "421" family structure in China.

"The situation is more serious due to the '421' family structure. It generates more empty-nest families who will need institutional care," Qu said.

He said the real crunch will come after 2015, making now the optimal time for foreign businesses to enter the market.

"The timing at present is ripe for foreign investors to enter the market and build their brand."

Already, families are recognizing the pressure put on children and the need to adapt to China's transforming family structure.

"With the rapid growth of China, many have changed their train of thought. People are starting to live individually, paying for their own care," said Ma Zhang, 83, a retired government official who has been using US-based Right-At-Home Care, an in-home nursing service, for more than a year.

Speaking in a lavishly decorated two-story apartment in Beijing's Fengtai district where he lives with his 81-year-old wife, the energetic octogenarians said they began using the service to help alleviate the pressure on their two children.

With their daughter working as an auditor in the United States and their son working for a large telecommunication company in the capital, he said it is difficult for their children to find time to visit.

"My children are very busy, so it gets quite lonely every day," Ma said.

The caretaker not only monitors their health and helps with housework, but converses with the elderly couple throughout the week. That seemingly mundane but necessary task was one of the driving factors for Ma and his wife.

At 20,400 yuan a month, paying for conversation may seem extravagant, but paying for foreign senior care is also a sign of status, akin to owning a nice car.

"We chose this brand because it is American and we knew it would be high quality. Many of our friends admire our ability to afford this kind of service."

This positive perception of foreign brands is giving companies like Right-At-Home and Cascade a leg up when angling for middle-class families who can afford to pay for quality senior care.