Experts predict that China's healthcare market will have an annual growth of 6 to 8 per cent in the next few years, making it one of the potentially most prosperous. In Shanghai, annual medical expenditure is estimated to be 16 billion yuan (U. S. 93 billion). With an increasingly【31】population, the growing consumption power and longer life【32】of local residents, the medical market bas great opportunities. However, limited medical resources cannot meet people's needs【33】financial deficits in State-owned hospitals.【34】, there is room for a range of different medical organizations. As is the case with many State-owned enterprises, public hospitals in the past half century have learned a lot of bad habits:【35】management, over-staffing and bureaucratic operating procedures. Being a member of World Trade Organization (WTO), China has to【36】its promise to open the health industry to foreign capital in coming years. By then, public hospitals will be facing fierce competition from Western giants they have never prepared for. So it's quite urgent【37】them to learn how to operate as an enterprise and how to survive in the competitive market economy of the future. As a【38】, the healthcare sector was first opened to domestic private investors. Since the first private hospital opened in 1999, private investors from Shenzhen, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces have been scrambling to enter Shanghai.【39】show that about 20 private hospitals have been set up in the city, although this number,【40】with more than 500 public hospitals, is still quite low. (31)