人口老龄化为亚洲企业带来新机遇

As the rapid aging of Asia's population creates challenges for governments and societies, new opportunities are emerging for businesses serving the needs of the elderly and their caretakers.

亚洲地区人口迅速老龄化给政府和社会带来了挑战，但同时也为企业带来了服务老龄人口及其照料者的新机遇。

While population aging is a global phenomenon, the Asian-Pacific region is expected to see a particularly drastic demographic change over the next few decades. The number of elderly persons in the region-already home to more than half of the world's population aged 60 and over-is expected to triple to more than 1.2 billion by 2050, when one in four people in the region will be over 60 years old, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

尽管人口老龄化问题在全球普遍存在，但预计未来几十年亚太地区的人口结构改变将尤为明显。根据联合国亚太经济及社会理事会(United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific)的数据，预计亚太地区老龄人口的数量到2050年将增长两倍，到达12亿以上，这意味着在该地区每四人中就有一人超过60岁。目前全世界超过一半的60岁以上人口居住在亚太地区。

Across Asia, large corporations and entrepreneurs in various industries are racing to come up with new products and services for the elderly, while health-care-related businesses are seeing soaring demand. Among various fields of health care for the elderly, nursing homes represent one of the fastest-growing sectors.

在整个亚洲，医疗保健相关企业面临的市场需求激增，大型企业以及各行各业的企业家都在竞相推出针对老龄人口的产品和服务。在老龄人口医疗保健领域，养老院的运营是增长最快的领域之一。

In Japan, companies that previously had little to do with the issue of aging have jumped on the bandwagon. In 2005, Watami Co., which operates Japanese-style izakaya pubs serving food and drinks, entered a new business of running nursing homes. In the most recent fiscal year, the nursing business was more profitable than its izakaya business. Demand for Watami's new business is robust because Japan's population is the world's grayest, according to a 2009 United Nation report, with nearly 30% aged 60 or older.

在日本，原本与老龄化问题压根不沾边的企业也纷纷进军这一领域。2005年，经营提供餐饮服务的日式居酒屋的和民有限公司(Watami Co.)开始涉足养老院经营这一全新业务。在刚刚过去的财年，和民的养老院业务利润超过了居酒屋业务。和民新业务的市场需求强劲，根据联合国2009年的一份报告，日本人口老龄化程度超过全球任何其他国家，将近30%的人口已经达到60岁或60岁以上。

Other parts of Asia, such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, are also anticipating a surge in the percentage of elderly citizens. In China, people over the age of 60 now account for 13.3% of the country's population of 1.34 billion, up from 10.3% in 2000, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, and the aging trend is expected to accelerate.

据预计，亚洲其他地区，如中国大陆、台湾、香港、韩国和新加坡的老龄人口比例也将迅速升高。根据中国国家统计局的数据，目前中国60岁以上人口占全国13.4亿人口的13.3%，相比之下，2000年的这一比例为10.3%。预计老龄化趋势还将加快。

In January, China's state-run Xinhua news agency wrote about challenges facing nursing homes, saying 'there are simply not enough nurses or beds to accommodate the country's elderly population.'

今年1月，中国国有媒体新华社(Xinhua news agency)报道了养老院面临的各种挑战。报道说，与老龄人口的数量相比，中国的养老院和床位的数量不足。

In March, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said at a forum in Beijing that the country needs to take more steps to cope with a rapidly aging population in the years ahead.

今年3月，国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁拉加德(Christine Lagarde)在北京的一个论坛上说，未来几年中国要采取更多措施应对人口迅速老龄化的问题。

Despite varying levels of infrastructure and support from governments, the global market for nursing and health-care services continues to expand, and expectations are rising for businesses that might meet the growing demand.

尽管各国都配备了各种层级的基础设施，各国政府也都给予了支持，养老和医疗服务的全球市场仍在扩大，人们越来越期待企业能满足日益增长的养老和医疗服务需求。

Last month, IHH Healthcare Bhd., Asia's largest hospital operator by market value, staged a strong trading debut in Malaysia and Singapore, after raising US$2 billion in its initial public offering, the world's third-largest IPO this year.

上个月，亚洲市值最高的医院运营商马来西亚综合保健控股有限公司(IHH Healthcare Bhd.)在马来西亚和新加坡上市首日即表现强劲，首次公开募股(IPO)募集资金20亿美元，成为今年全球第三大IPO。

Analysts said that population aging in Asia and the rest of the world makes IHH a good long-term investment.

分析人士说，亚洲和世界其他地区人口老龄化的趋势使马来西亚综合保健控股有限公司成为一个不错的长期投资选择。

Given the opportunities in the market for hospitals and nursing homes, some technology entrepreneurs are focusing on products and services they could sell to health-care institutions.

鉴于医院和养老院市场存在的种种机会，一些科技企业家开始专注开发能够销售给医疗保健机构的产品和服务。

Kevin Wong, an engineer from Guangzhou, China, has developed a new product that he thinks will appeal to nursing homes and hospitals. His Hong-Kong based start-up, Ckicom Technology Ltd., sells a disposable adult diaper equipped with a moisture sensor and a wireless system that sends wetness alerts to nursing-home workers via personal computers and mobile phones.

来自中国广州的工程师Kevin Wong开发出一款他认为会吸引养老院和医院的新产品。他在香港的初创企业启通科技有限公司(Ckicom Technology Ltd.)销售一种一次性成人尿片，这种尿片配有湿度传感器以及一个无线系统，可以通过个人电脑和手机向养老院护工发送尿湿程度警报。

A small clip-on sensor device attached to the diaper detects moisture through special carbon ink prints on the diaper's inner surface and sends the information wirelessly to PCs and mobile phones. The clip-on device isn't disposable.

夹在尿片上的一个小型传感器设备通过尿片内侧特殊的碳墨印记检测尿湿程度，并通过无线方式将尿湿信息发送到电脑和手机上。传感器不是一次性设备。

Each disposable diaper costs US$1.20 or less, and nursing homes also need to purchase or lease the wireless system including the clip-on devices. For a nursing home with 100 beds, for example, the system would likely cost US$5,000 to US$10,000, the company said.

每块一次性尿片的成本在1.20美元或以下，养老院还需要购买或租用无线系统（包括夹在尿片上的设备）。该公司表示，对于一家拥有100个床位的养老院来说，配置这样一套系统可能要花费5,000至1万美元。

Ckicom's CAREase diaper, one of the 12 finalists competing for The Wall Street Journal's Asian Innovation Awards, can detect wetness at three different levels, eliminating the need for workers to repeatedly check residents' diapers just to see whether they need to be replaced. 'It helps nursing homes upgrade their services,' Mr. Wong said.

启通科技的护理适(CAREase)尿片可以检测三种不同的尿湿程度，使护工不必反复查看被护理人员的尿片以确定是否需要更换。Kevin Wong说，这有助于养老院提升自己的服务水平。启通科技的护理适尿片是入围《华尔街日报》“亚洲创新奖”(Asian Innovation Awards)的12件决赛作品之一。

Mr. Wong, 50 years old, came up with the idea of a wetness-sensing diaper for babies more than 30 years ago, during a classroom discussion at the South China Institute of Technology. He never pursued that idea and instead worked for much of the past three decades at a company that develops consumer-electronics products.

现年50岁的Kevin Wong 30多年前在华南理工大学的一次课堂讨论上萌生了发明一款尿湿感应婴儿尿片的想法。不过，当时他没有将想法付诸于实践，过去30年的大部分时间里他在一家公司开发消费电子产品。

Five years ago, one of his college classmates, who lived in the U.S., called Mr. Wong and reminded him of the moisture-sensing diaper idea, which Mr. Wong himself had forgotten about. The friend said that nursing homes for the elderly would want such a diaper.

五年前，Kevin Wong住在美国的一位大学同学给他打电话，提醒他曾经萌生的尿湿感应尿片的想法。Kevin Wong自己倒是忘了这点。这位朋友说，养老院会用得上这样一种尿片。

After conducting research for almost a year, Mr. Wong quit his job and started Ckicom in 2008 to develop the diaper in a project partially funded by the Hong Kong government.

经过了近一年的研究后，Kevin Wong辞职并于2008年创办了启通科技以研发感应尿片。该项目得到了香港政府的部分资金支持。

The challenge was to create a comfortable diaper that can accurately determine wetness levels, while keeping the cost reasonable, Mr. Wong said.

Kevin Wong说，我们面临的挑战是研发出一款舒适的尿片，既可以准确测定尿湿程度，同时又能保持合理的成本。

The potential market is growing, as Hong Kong expects the percentage of its population aged 65 and over to increase to 26% in 2036 from 12% in 2006, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

这一产品的潜在市场越来越大。香港政府统计处(Census and Statistics Department)的数据表明，预计65岁及以上人口在总人口中占比将从2006年的12%上升至2036年的26%。

Five nursing homes in Hong Kong are now testing the CAREase diaper, while the company's Taiwanese distribution agent has recently received orders for 100,000 diapers.

香港有五家养老院正在测试护理适尿片，而该公司在台湾的分销代理机构最近接到10万块尿片的订单。

Ckicom also has set up an office in Tokyo.

启通科技还在东京设立了办事处。

The closely held company forecasts revenue of about US$1 million in the current fiscal year through March.

这家少数人持股公司预计，在截至明年3月的当前这一财年其收入大约能达到100万美元。

While Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan are its main markets for now, the company wants eventually to expand into the U.S. and Europe as well as mainland China, Mr. Wong said.

虽然香港、台湾和日本目前是其主要市场，但Kevin Wong说该公司希望最终能将市场扩大到美国、欧洲以及中国内地。