TIANJIN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin Municipality issued a license for medical services on Monday to a wholly foreign-owned, third-grade general hospital, the first of its kind in the country.

The Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, invested and built by Singapore's Perennial Holdings Private Limited, has a total investment of around 1 billion yuan (about 140 million U.S. dollars).

This move signifies China's commitment to further opening up its medical sector. In late November, the country unveiled a plan to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in major cities including Tianjin.

The new hospital features specialized departments such as orthopedics, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology and nephrology, in addition to an international division. Leveraging its location in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the hospital aims to expand its service scope, according to the Tianjin municipal health commission.

China has a three-tier hospital grading system, with the third-grade hospitals representing the highest level.

"This is a measure in response to China's announced policy of opening up its healthcare industry. We appreciate China's open foreign investment policy in the sector, which has injected confidence into investors interested in the country's medical and health field," said Pua Seck Guan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Perennial Holdings Private Limited.

The new hospital is expected to attract more foreign patients seeking private medical services in China. The group plans to actively promote exchanges and cooperation between foreign and local hospitals, and to strengthen the introduction of overseas medical experts and medical technologies, in order to better complement the public medical services, he added.

China has allowed the establishment of joint-venture medical institutions with foreign investors since 2000 and currently has over 60 foreign-invested joint-venture medical institutions.