Health insurer NIB expects to start selling health insurance in China towards the end of the 2018 calendar year.
NIB chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Sydney on Wednesday that China is an obvious growth opportunity.
Mr Fitzgibbon said NIB was approached by a Chinese company about 18 months ago that wanted to set up a private insurance operation and was looking for NIB's assistance.
That resulted in a joint venture with Chinese pharmaceutical company Tasly Holding Group to sell "critical illness" lump-sum insurance in China.
"It's the type of thing that if it fails, it's not going to really damage the company, but if it's remarkably successful, the upside is unlimited," Mr Fitzgibbon told shareholders.
"We expect to be selling health insurance in China towards the end of next calendar year, which sounds a long way off, but there's a lot of planning, a lot of IT, a lot of recruitment, a lot of preparation to be undertaken."
Mr Fitzgibbon also said that NIB's recent acquisition of specialist corporate private health insurer GU Health was of strategic importance, doubling NIB's presence in this area.
"Even though it's (GU Health) only a small business of about 35,000 policyholders, it really ups the ante in this particular channel, so it's as much strategic as it is a pure investment," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
NIB chairman Steve Crane told shareholders that the health insurance sector needs to work harder at slowing the rate of premium increases.
But he said just blaming insurers ignores the fact that premium rises reflect rising health costs as people seek more treatment, and medical fees increase.
"We know that variations in medical costs for the very same procedure and the increasing rate of out-of-pocket expenses, is a pain point for customers" Mr Crane said
Mr Crane said the cost charged by a medical specialist for a prostatectomy can vary from $2,000 to over $10,000.
Meanwhile NIB has maintained its financial guidance for 2017/18, telling shareholders it still expects an underlying operating profit of at least $155 million and a statutory operating profit of about $143 million.
NIB had said on the release of its annual financial results in August that it was forecasting an underlying operating profit of at least $150 million and a statutory operating profit of at least $141 million.
The company lifted that guidance in September as a result of its acquisition of GU Health.
Shares in NIB were 25 cents, or 3.97 per cent, higher at $6.55 at 1256 AEDT.
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