Keppel sets sights on senior-living market, opens its first facility in Asia
The facility in Nanjing, China, is the asset manager’s flagship project for its senior-living brand
KEPPEL has officially opened its first senior-living facility in Asia, a project in Nanjing, China, that kicks off the company’s expansion plans for the region.
The Nanjing facility is Keppel’s flagship project for Sindora Living, the asset manager’s senior-living brand and operating platform for Asia, said Louis Lim, chief executive of real estate at Keppel, on Friday (May 31).
The China development will serve as a “launchpad” for Keppel’s expansion into other senior-living markets in the region, said Lim, where fast-growing ageing populations have generated soaring demand for “quality senior-care services”.
In China, for instance, 21.1 per cent of the country’s total population – or around 297 million people – were aged 60 and above in 2023. Meanwhile, data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China indicated that there was a total of 41,000 registered senior-living institutions, providing about 8.2 million beds last year.
“Further afield, the number of seniors in China is expected to reach about 400 million in 2035, driving the need for even more quality eldercare facilities,” said Keppel.
A United Nations report also found that one in 10 people worldwide was 65 years old or older in 2021. This group is projected to account for one in six people globally by 2050.
“Against this backdrop, we see that senior living is an important service that Keppel can provide, especially in more nascent but sizeable markets such as China and Singapore,” Lim said in response to queries from The Business Times.
The asset manager therefore hopes to continue expanding its senior-living footprint in these “priority markets”, while exploring opportunities in other markets in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States, he added.
Spanning 19,846 square metres, the purpose-built senior-living facility, Sindora Living Nanjing Qixia, was acquired by Keppel in December 2022 and fitted out as a premier assisted-living community with care capabilities and around 400 beds.
Besides providing assisted-living services, the facility also offers daycare and homecare services for nearby residents in Nanjing’s Qixia district.
In total, Keppel has invested about 330 million yuan (S$62.8 million) in the facility, including fitting out the asset for operations.
“Sindora Living Nanjing Qixia leverages Keppel’s capabilities in integrating technologies such as an intelligent integrated platform for chronic-disease management, and harnessing data to provide personalised life plans and holistic care for the residents,” said the company.
Outside Asia, Keppel owns a 50 per cent stake in Watermark Retirement Communities, an American senior-housing operator with around 70 senior-living communities across the country. It was acquired in 2020 for around US$84.6 million.
When asked about future plans, Lim said Keppel is looking to bring onboard “like-minded partners and investors” who are keen to co-invest in more of such assets, created from either greenfield or brownfield sites.
“When the assets are stabilised, we can also inject them into a real estate investment trust (Reit), where Keppel can continue to earn asset management fees as the Reit manager,” he said.
Shares of Keppel closed flat at S$6.72 on Friday, after the announcement.
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