In late May, Shanghai’s Tongji University, Siemens and German-based hospital operator Asklepios Kliniken signed a Rmb1 billion ($131 million) joint venture agreement to build and operate the Shanghai Sino-German Friendship Hospital (SSGFH) to be established in Shanghai International Medical Zone. Scheduled to be fully operational by 2010, the hospital will eventually offer capacity of more than 500 beds and will offer services to international standards.
Tongji University, a leading medical school in China with six existing affiliated hospitals, holds a 46% interest in the joint venture. Siemens, which will play a major role in structuring the finance for the project as well as providing advanced medical equipment and training, holds 40%. Asklepios Kliniken, which will operate the hospital, holds the remaining 14%.
The project is the latest in a series of successful PPP financing projects undertaken in Asia by Siemens’ subsidiary, Siemens Financial Services, which provides investment financing, treasury services, fund management and insurance brokerage both internally for Siemens and increasingly for external clients.
The firm’s investment subsidiary, Siemens Project Ventures (SPV), makes equity investments in infrastructure projects worldwide, focused on power, airports, health and transport projects in which Siemens also acts as a principal supplier and/or solutions provider.