Sinopharm Capital and Yunbai Capital Jointly Invest Tens of Millions in Novena Global Lifecare to Enter Southeast Asia's Aesthetic Medicine Market

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Sinopharm Capital, in partnership with Yunbai Capital, completed a multi-million-dollar investment in Singapore-based Novena Global Lifecare. The signing ceremony was held in Singapore on the evening of June 21, 2019 (Beijing time).

Novena Global Lifecare is an integrated healthcare platform. The company has established a presence in over 250 medical aesthetics clinics, retail stores, and product sales outlets across 20 countries and regions worldwide, making it one of the largest medical aesthetics companies in Southeast Asia. Its flagship medical aesthetics brand, NOVU Aesthetics, has cumulatively served more than 2 million users globally, delivering over 7 million treatment sessions.

This transaction marks Sinopharm Capital’s first investment in a Singapore-based healthcare company. Novena Global Lifecare will continue to expand its medical aesthetics business in China and Southeast Asia, while leveraging Sinopharm Capital’s extensive network and resources to rapidly and sustainably strengthen its presence in China, the world’s largest healthcare and consumer market.

According to forecasts, Southeast Asia is projected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030, signaling substantial investment opportunities and development potential. The medical aesthetics market in Southeast Asia holds immense promise, driven by the overall youthful demographic of ASEAN countries. Singapore, with its multicultural society and mature healthcare system, serves as an ideal springboard for the regional expansion of medical aesthetics chains. As estimated in the *Asia Pacific Aesthetics Market Research Report*, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the medical aesthetics market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach approximately 11.5% by 2023, compared to the global average of around 7% predicted by ISAPS for the same period.

The medical aesthetics market in Singapore comprises several renowned private hospitals, including Camden Medical Centre, Gleneagles Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, and Raffles Hospital, as well as no fewer than 70 aesthetic clinics, ranging from independent practices to chain groups.

Novena Global Lifecare, established in 2010, is a subsidiary of the DORR Group, a private investment firm focused on Asia’s consumer, retail, technology, and healthcare sectors. The group was co-founded by former investment bankers Nelson Loh and Terence Loh of Singapore’s Loh Family.

Leveraging a deep understanding of the strong demand in the Asian healthcare, wellness, and medical aesthetics services and products markets, DORR Group has built a compelling investment platform and assembled a highly qualified team, delivering strong performance in its journey to becoming a leading global integrated healthcare and medical aesthetics group. Currently, DORR operates in Singapore, China, Hong Kong (China), South Korea, Taiwan (China), Indonesia, India, and Malaysia.

Novena Global Lifecare is an integrated healthcare platform. The company has established a presence in over 250 medical aesthetics clinics, retail stores, and product sales outlets across 20 countries and regions worldwide, making it one of the largest medical aesthetics companies in Southeast Asia. Its flagship medical aesthetics brand, NOVU Aesthetics, has cumulatively served more than 2 million clients globally, delivering over 7 million treatment sessions.

NOVU Aesthetics has already become one of the largest medical aesthetics chains in Singapore, operating a network of laser clinics and medical aesthetics clinics, along with its national beauty brand “Novu.” Its stores have expanded across multiple Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, and entered the European market.

In terms of business model, Novu is built on medical aesthetic clinical services and laser treatment services; it also has its own independently developed, manufactured, and sold product lines for medical aesthetics and lifestyle beauty.

Mr. Nelson Loh, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of DORR Group and Novena Global Lifecare, stated: “We are delighted to secure investment from Sinopharm Capital and Yunbai Capital, both leading institutions in their respective fields. Their investment serves as an endorsement of our business model as well as our global innovation and practices. Leveraging their extensive resources in China, we will continue to explore opportunities in healthcare, medical aesthetics, and life care across global and Southeast Asian markets. We remain focused on forging partnerships, acquisitions, and investments to build a pan-Asian integrated healthcare ecosystem, thereby enhancing the standard of healthcare for consumers throughout Asia, particularly in countries with rapidly growing middle classes such as Vietnam.”

Mr. Terence Loh, CEO and Co-founder of DORR Group and Novena Global Lifecare, stated: “We have rapidly expanded Novena Global Lifecare in less than a decade. NOVU is now a leading medical aesthetics enterprise in Southeast Asia, with over 100 clinics and more than 150 sales outlets across 40 cities worldwide. China represents a vast market, and we are confident in our ability to seize opportunities, particularly within its highly fragmented medical aesthetics sector. There is definite room for growth for operators that are well-managed, financially robust, and capable of providing affordable and accessible healthcare and medical aesthetic services.”

Mr. Wu Aimin, President of Sinopharm Capital, stated, “We are highly optimistic about the medical aesthetics market in Southeast Asia. Novena Global Lifecare is one of the largest medical aesthetics chains in Singapore and even across Southeast Asia, operating and managing over 250 clinics and stores worldwide. It has established a mature system for chain management, branding, products, and standardized services, achieving sustainable and replicable growth. With its extensive resources in China’s pharmaceutical industry, Sinopharm Capital can assist Novena in entering the Chinese market, expanding commercial channels, and tapping into China’s medical aesthetics market, which is valued at hundreds of billions of yuan.”

Mr. Bao Yi, Founder and Chairman of Yunbai Capital, stated, “We are delighted to partner with Sinopharm Capital in making a strategic investment in Novena Global Lifecare. We believe this will create a significant, win-win cross-border investment opportunity. Expanding Novena’s brand influence and product positioning in China will not only help improve the living standards of Chinese consumers, but this mutually beneficial collaboration will also enable Sinopharm to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market, supporting its growing healthcare and wellness industry and benefiting people across all countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.”

DORR Group is a private investment firm co-founded by Nelson Loh and Terence Loh, currently managing over $4 billion in assets across various sectors, including consumer goods, healthcare, technology, and media. The founders and key management team possess a combined track record of more than 50 years in investment, structuring, and operations, with particular expertise in medical aesthetics and consumer/retail sectors.

Capitalizing on the robust demand for healthcare, beauty services, and products in Asia, DORR Group has established a compelling investment platform and an experienced team, creating Novena Global Lifecare—one of the largest medical aesthetics platforms in the region—with strong performance.

In 2010, the DORR Group launched the Rockstar Fund and DORR Healthcare Fund I, which were primarily established with participation from the DORR Group and several family office funds in Southeast Asia. The funds invest in the aesthetic healthcare industry. Over the years, the DORR Group has accumulated extensive qualifications, operational expertise, and a profound understanding of the industry through its rapid development.

Novena Global Lifecare is one of the world’s largest integrated healthcare and aesthetics groups, with operations spanning Singapore, China, Hong Kong (China), South Korea, Taiwan (China), Indonesia, India, and Malaysia. Founded in 2010 by Terence Loh and Nelson Loh, investment banker brothers from Singapore’s Loh family, the company currently operates more than 100 clinics and retail outlets, along with over 150 beauty product sales points, across more than 20 countries. It provides lifestyle care management solutions for Asian populations, helping clients pursue well-being throughout all stages of life. Novena Global Lifecare has delivered over seven million treatments worldwide and maintains records for more than two million international patients.

Yunbai Capital is a global investment platform focused on cross-border industry synergies, founded in 2016 by Mr. Bao Yi, former CEO of Morgan Stanley’s China securities business, in partnership with top-tier global industry and financial leaders. By connecting major economies and markets, Yunbai Capital invests in advanced enterprises and projects that demonstrate significant synergistic potential.

Yunbai Capital currently boasts an international investment team with diverse backgrounds, outstanding track records, and extensive experience, along with strategic partners in major global markets, managing assets exceeding RMB 10 billion. Yunbai Capital focuses on the integration of industrial investment and practical development, having established deep strategic collaborations in various forms with industry leaders in sectors such as high-end industrial manufacturing, automotive and new energy vehicles, healthcare, and semiconductor chips. Notably, it recently facilitated Geely Group’s acquisition of a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, making Geely the largest shareholder.

Co-founded by Sinopharm Group and the Sinopharm Capital management team, it is a professional private equity investment firm dedicated to the healthcare sector. The management team comprises former senior executives from the Sinopharm system and external professional investors, structured under market-oriented mechanisms. Leveraging profound insights into the development of China’s healthcare industry, industrial operations, and capital management, Sinopharm Capital effectively integrates internal resources within the Sinopharm Group with external industry assets to harness the power of capital. In recent years, it has made investments in China’s medical services sector, including Yanshu Medical Aesthetics, Tongyishu Pediatrics, Ankang Psychological Healthcare, and Koreson Assisted Reproduction.