Penguin Doctor Partners with Hong Kong-Listed EC Healthcare to Launch Clinics and Expand Globally

On May 16, Penguin Doctor signed a strategic cooperation agreement with UMH Healthcare Group Limited (UMH) of Hong Kong,The two parties will join forces to open multiple general practice clinics in Hong Kong, introducing Penguin Doctor’s “smart clinic medical closed-loop model” to the Hong Kong healthcare market.

Hong Kong Medical Aesthetics Group was founded by Tang Chi-fai in 2005, with its headquarters in Hong Kong. It was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2016. UMH initially started with medical aesthetics, and its business scope includes providing medical, quasi-medical, and traditional beauty services, selling skincare and beauty products, as well as investment holding. Among the brands it operates, DR REBORN is the most well-known and is currently the largest medical aesthetics service brand in Hong Kong.

Currently operating 53 directly managed clinics and service centers across the Greater China region, providing one-stop medical and health services with a total service area exceeding 200,000 square feet. Medical Thinking Healthcare Group offers an extensive range of services, with its flagship brands including DRREBORN (aesthetic medicine), SPINECentral (chiropractic and musculoskeletal pain management), re:HEALTH (premium health screening and vaccination), and UMHDENTAL CARE (comprehensive dental services).

As demand for health services surges, the market is calling for better technologies, more experts, and more accessible healthcare solutions.

Penguin Doctor has always been dedicated to providing high-quality, safe, and comprehensive health management services for individuals and families. Currently, it has established three Penguin Doctor clinics in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. It is expected to open 300 directly-operated clinics, connect with 3,000 affiliated clinics, and deploy 30,000 shared health screening terminals within the next three years.

The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement between the two parties marks the launch of a new model of collaboration between medical institutions in both regions. By leveraging their complementary strengths, the parties will engage in deep cooperation in home healthcare and wellness, preventive and rehabilitative medical services, home-based elderly care, travel-related medical coverage, “Health Kiosk” services (Penguin Huts), community-level health management IT systems, brand licensing, and bidirectional domestic and international consultations and referrals, thereby jointly addressing emerging industry trends.

It is reported that preliminary plans have been made to establish multiple general practice medical institutions in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In this process, Penguin Doctor will provide the relevant business segments of Hong Kong’s Nice Medical Group with an integrated healthcare management system, a cloud-based medical management service system, and an IT system for health management. These solutions will be tailored to support various initiatives, including procurement supply chain management, family doctor service standards, nationwide air medical rescue services, anti-aging (age management centers), commercial insurance integration, and self-service physical examination technologies and hardware solutions.

Meanwhile, UMH holds significant advantages in policy support, geographic reach, physical clinics/service centers, and one-stop medical services. This collaboration aggregates high-quality medical resources from both regions to serve Hong Kong residents, while also providing mainland Chinese clients with a more convenient channel to access Hong Kong’s premium healthcare resources. Furthermore, Penguin Doctor will leverage medical AI as its foundation to cover green-channel services and engage in collaborative initiatives such as joint department development and consultation partnerships.

Penguin Clinic’s expansion into Hong Kong has also benefited from medical tourism. The organic integration of the healthcare and tourism industries has become a new growth driver for the global economy. Medical tourism has evolved from its initial focus on convalescent travel into a comprehensive system encompassing various activities, including treatment, vacationing, recuperation, and fitness, thereby broadening the scope of the tourism market.

Backed by the Chinese mainland and facing the world, tourism has always been a traditional pillar industry of Hong Kong’s economy. Meanwhile, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry in the Pearl River Delta region is developing rapidly, far outpacing other parts of China. These factors provide favorable conditions and a solid foundation for the development of medical tourism in Hong Kong.

“It is reported that the number of visitors to Hong Kong reached 58.472 million in 2017. Our research indicates that as living standards continue to improve, people are placing higher demands on health, and a growing number of tourists visiting Hong Kong hope for better and more comprehensive travel-related health services. Their purpose for visiting has gradually shifted from traditional sightseeing to a composite experience encompassing sightseeing, leisure, vacation, and immersive tourism.”Li Xingyu, Vice President of Penguin Doctor, stated, “Our entry into the Hong Kong market is not only aimed at delivering superior medical services to its residents but also at tapping into its vast medical tourism market.”

The health needs of tourists visiting Hong Kong must be met. Li Xingyu believes that Penguin Doctor will provide tourists with “smart” medical services, “standardized” management, and an “efficient” service experience, thereby achieving full integration of healthcare and tourism."In the coming period, China faces the challenge of accelerating the transformation and upgrading of its tourism industry, with medical and health tourism emerging as a significant trend in the future development of the tourism sector."

Hong Kong’s healthcare standards have long enjoyed a strong international reputation, and its medical policies and system are more open than those on the Chinese mainland. This open healthcare environment gives Hong Kong significant advantages and flexibility in leveraging high-quality international medical resources, engaging in international academic exchanges and collaboration, and conducting two-way consultations and referrals both domestically and internationally. Meanwhile, it can more readily introduce advanced medical equipment and technologies, keeping the application of cutting-edge pharmaceutical and technological research at the forefront of China, while ensuring that medical services consistently align with international standards.

This collaboration represents an attempt by the two regions to leverage their existing healthcare systems to achieve complementary resource allocation and establish higher-standard medical services.Penguin Doctor aims to explore the Hong Kong market through this collaboration, accumulate international cooperation experience and medical resources, and lay the groundwork for future expansion into the global market.