With 18.7 percent of its population aged 60and above, China faces challenges in current social security, medical care andold-age care systems. But it also creates opportunities for the financialindustry, experts said.

More insurers are developing products totarget the growing demand of elderly care in China where an aging societyrequires them, they said.

The most obvious challenge ahead is apossible lack of pension. Currently, there are three major pillars of thepension insurance system in China: the State-run fundamental insurance,enterprises' annuity provided by employers and commercial pension insurance.

"With the proportion of people aged 65and above growing continuously, aging population is expected to reach 30percent of total population, and then will plateau for a long time. It willpose a great challenge to pensions," said Dong Keyong, a professor withthe School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University and secretary-general ofthe China Ageing Finance Forum (CAFF50), at a news conference in Beijing inMay.

"The second and third pillars shouldfurther develop to accelerate accumulation of pension," he said, addingthat the awareness of increasing wealth reserves for the future should beenhanced to encourage people to get well-prepared for old age, and thus spurdemand for related financial services.

On May 15, the China Banking and InsuranceRegulatory Commission said six life insurance companies were given the greenlight to develop exclusive commercial endowment insurance in Zhejiang provinceand Chongqing from June 1 as part of a one-year pilot project.

The regulator encouraged the six companiesto provide exclusive commercial endowment insurance products, which can bepurchased conveniently, offer flexible payment options and generate stablereturns. Consumers can receive pension after they reach age 60, and the periodfor them to receive pension should be no shorter than 10 years, according to a noticeissued by the regulator.

Enterprises and institutions are allowed toassist flexible employees or people working in emerging industries to pay forsuch insurance. The regulator also encourages the insurers to combine theexclusive commercial endowment insurance with elderly care and nursingservices.

Zhu Junsheng, director of the ChinaInsurance and Pension Research Center of the PBC School of Finance at TsinghuaUniversity, told International Financial News that it will help accelerate thedevelopment of commercial endowment insurance and the construction of amulti-pillar pension insurance system, and also help meet differentiateddemands for old-age security.

The six companies, including PICC LifeInsurance Co Ltd and China Life Insurance Co Ltd, are all top insurers withcomplete branches and sales network. But it also asks for higher requirementfor companies' capability in operation and investment, Zhu said.

"If the working period is forincreasing wealth for old age, the retiring period is for consuming it,"Dong said. Financial institutions, including banks, securities, insurers andtrust companies, can develop more products to serve the consumption of pension,as the supply of such products is not sufficient in the market, he said.

Up to now, 10 insurers have invested in 47elderly care communities, with over 84,000 beds in total. More than 234 billionyuan ($36.6 billion) were invested by insurance companies in the elderly careservices sector, as well as the upstream and downstream medical and healthservice industries, through direct and indirect equity investment, said CaoDeyun, executive vice-president and secretary-general of the Insurance AssetManagement Association of China.

New China Life Insurance Co Ltd releasedits new elderly care community on May 18 in Yanqing district of Beijing, with atotal area of 280,000 square meters and about 2,000 apartments.

During the first phase of the project, thecommunity will provide about 200 long-term apartments customized for theelderly and 100 short-term guest rooms, as well as services in entertainment,catering, sports, medical care, social exchange and wealth management,according to the insurer.

The community will open at the end of thisyear. Other elderly care communities of the insurer in Boao, Hainan province,and the Lianhuachi area of Beijing are already in operation.

Li Quan, president, CEO and executivedirector of New China Life Insurance, said the company has been developingproducts combining life insurance with elderly care and health services inmajor cities, taking advantage of the long duration and large size of insurancefunds.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of Chinalaunched its high-end elderly care brand on May 9. Consumers of its insuranceproducts can live in communities at core urban regions while enjoying medicalcare, rehabilitation and financial management services.

One of the first insurers to invest in thesector, Taikang Insurance Group has built elderly care communities in 22cities, to be able to accommodate 55,000 people. It links its life insurance,health insurance, old age care and medical services. More insurers arefollowing the beat.

Wang Xujin, director of the insuranceresearch center at Beijing Technology and Business University, told EconomicDaily that the fact that insurers actively join the elderly care sector showsthey are optimistic about its market potential, and that insurance fundsfeaturing long-term investment and the elderly care industry are a naturalmatch.

The number of Chinese residents aged 65 andabove reached 190 million, 13.5 percent of the country's total population, andmay rise to 14 percent, which is considered the level for entering a "deepaging society "by international standards.

The lack of ample supply of elderly careservices poses great potential for related industries, but there are stillchallenges－the pension level is low to constrain consumption of old people,said Dong. He suggested more support to be given to companies in the elderlycare industry, to help them issue bonds, get floated and carry out mergers andacquisitions.

Besides pension, the 264 million agingpopulation may also need numerous services like daily nursing, healthcare andasset management.

Creative content, including entertainmentshows on TV, with focus on the elderly group, can develop into a niche businesswith significant market potential, given that China is increasingly becoming anaging society, industry experts said.

For instance, Wow! Mom, a new weeklyvariety show on Hunan Satellite TV, a satellite-based channel of Hunanprovince, has mothers of some renowned Chinese actresses in lead roles.

Unlike other programs that focus on filmstars with their family members in supporting roles, Wow! Mom, which has beenairing since late April, shines the spotlight on celebrities' mothers, who aretypically aged 50 and above. It is China's first such TV show.

Hunan Satellite TV said for long, thepublic has shaped a stereotype of middle-aged and elderly women as a group thatis good at cooking and cares much about families and children, but not manypeople pay attention to their individual pursuits, personalities, talent andgiftedness.

So, the channel decided that mothers,accompanied by their celebrity daughters, would showcase their healthy andpositive lifestyles on the show. With 20 pairs of mothers and daughterstogether, the show aims to shortlist 10 pairs eventually for a supermodeltraining camp.

Watched by admiring offspring and a gushingaudience, moms donned in trendy designer outfits will walk the ramp, and likelyelicit applause not just from the on-site audience but also from viewersnationwide as the regional channel, renowned for its variety shows, enjoys wideviewership.

Eyeballs are expected to translate intoadvertising revenue for content producers and TV channels, and convert viewersinto potential consumers for advertisers.

Advertisers on the program include Kispalaundry detergent, a brand of Guangzhou Liby Enterprise Group Co Ltd; Ganten, apremium bottled water brand in China; and the healthcare and medicines unit ofTmall, a major e-commerce platform of Alibaba Group.

All of them are backing the show as theyaim to increase brand recognition and believe the program can help them toattract a large number of potential consumers.

Despite their daughters being celebrities,participating mothers have drawn more attention and the show's popularity isborne out by its high ratings and nonstop e-chatter among netizens, especiallyon Chinese online social networks.

"Variety shows that focus on themothers of film stars can resonate with a large viewership and strike a chordamong audiences about the parent-child relationship, intergenerationalinteractions, and the social life of the elderly group," said ZhangWeilin, an analyst at the LeadLeo Research Institute, a market researchprovider.

"The show has helped mothers to dressup and become fashion idols. It not only attracts the attention of youngaudiences, but also middle-aged women who are pursuing fashionable lifestyles.Thus, the show has drawn a wider audience," Zhang said.

Wendy Liu, a 28-year-old financial servicesemployee in Beijing, said she has watched several episodes of the show as itprovides an opportunity for ordinary moms to discover a hitherto ignored,neglected or overlooked part of themselves, nurture and develop it so theycould become more confident, actualize their full potential and feel fulfilled.

"I noticed that some celebritydaughters in the show tend to guide their moms about dressing and styles. Ithink they should give their moms more freedom and let them decide their ownlooks," Liu said.

In recent years, China has aired a numberof TV shows that feature the families of celebrities, including shows thatspotlight couples, parents and kids, and the relationships between celebritiesand their parents-in-law.

"The domestic TV content market hasturned white-hot, and the demand and preferences of audiences have beenevolving. This has spurred producers to constantly innovate new topics that areboth interesting and meaningful," Zhang said.

Variety shows that focus on silver-hairedgroups also reflect China's aging society. As viewers age, variety shows' focushas been shifting to match their changing tastes, preferences and expectations.

In 2019, major television stations andvideo platforms launched about 230 variety shows. The shows that focused on theelderly group accounted for 5 percent of the total, which indicated asignificant room for growth, according to LeadLeo.

In the overseas markets, variety shows thatfocus on silver-haired groups have been developing at a relatively mature stage.For instance, in South Korea, Grandpas over Flowers, which features elderlyfilm stars traveling in different countries, has been quite popular among Asianaudiences for several seasons broadcast over years.

In Poland, Polish TV show Sanatorium ofLove invited willing candidates who are aged 60 and above to take part in blinddates, and it has become one of the most popular reality shows for seniors inthe country.

"Those TV shows reflect the real dailyand social life of elderly people, and audiences can easily share theirthoughts and feelings with the shows," Zhang said.

"To further develop the Chinese marketfor variety shows about seniors, content needs to be innovated in terms oftopics and other creative elements," she said.