DeltaHealth Hospital Shanghai was granted permission by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission on Friday as a wholly foreign-owned hospital, making it the country's first hospital specializing in cardiovascular diseases of this kind.

The hospital, which started as a joint venture in 2016, focuses on heart health and became part of Shanghai's medical insurance system in 2018. In May 2024, Swire Pacific Limited announced that it had completed a shareholding increase of DeltaHealth China Ltd, marking its full ownership of DeltaHealth Hospital Shanghai.

In September 2024, China announced a pilot program to allow more foreign investment in the healthcare sector, with cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, chosen to test wholly foreign-owned hospitals.

In late February, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission stated that it will continue to promote the pilot work of expanding the opening-up in the field of wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and facilitate the establishment of such medical institutions in the city.

Such initiatives were expected to bring in advanced medical technologies, equipment and services from abroad to meet the increasing need for multi-level and diversified medical service needs in the country, said experts.