JINXIN Fertility Group, China’s largest private provider of in-vitro fertility (IVF) services, is buying a stake in an Indonesian peer, venturing into South-east Asia as demand in China declines with more couples opting not to have babies.

Hong Kong-listed Jinxin Fertility has signed an equity investment deal to become a “significant shareholder” of PT Morula Indonesia, an IVF specialist affiliated with PT Bundamedik, a major women- and children-focused health care services group in Indonesia, according to a joint statement. It did not specify how much capital Jinxin will invest.

Jinxin Fertility and Morula will also leverage their expertise in assisted reproduction to jointly explore business opportunities in other South-east Asian countries, the statement said.

With operations dating back to 2003, Jinxin Fertility is part of Jinxin Group, a healthcare-related products and services company based in Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province.

The fertility business runs 11 hospitals on the Chinese mainland, of which five are co-managed with partners. It also operates two reproduction clinics in Hong Kong, 10 clinics in the US and one clinic in Laos, according to the statement.

The firm’s net profit nearly tripled in 2023 to 347 million yuan (S$66 million), while revenue increased 18 per cent to 2.8 billion yuan, according to its earnings report released in March. Around 80 per cent of the revenue was generated in the Chinese market.

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Assisted reproduction services are the biggest revenue source for Jinxin Fertility, generating 1.3 billion yuan in revenue in 2023, or 48 per cent of the total, the report showed. The firm also offers obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics medical services, as well as hospital management services.

The birth rate on the Chinese mainland hit a new low last year.

A total of 9.02 million babies were born on the mainland in 2023, with a birth rate of 6.39 per 1,000 people, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Both figures broke records from 2022, when they were the lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

The increasing cost of raising children could be one factor. A report by the YuWa Population Research Institute published in February found that the average cost of raising a child from conception to 17 years old is nearly US$75,000 in China, which is more than six times the country’s GDP per capita in 2022. CAIXIN GLOBAL