WeDoctor, the online health care service company backed by Tencent, is in negotiations with chain hospitals and medical groups in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, according to a report by Sina News Thursday.

The cooperation with Hong Kong and Southeast Asian hospitals and medical groups is expected to increase the company's appeal to investors before an expected initial public offering in the Hong Kong stock market next year, the report said.

Part of the cooperation will be settled within six or 12 months, the company’s chief strategy officer Jeff Chen said.

He said the company can recommend top hospitals and services including registration, flight tickets and hotels to patients seeking international medical resources.

Founded in 2010, WeDoctor, starting as an online platform for registration to replace lining up at the hospital, has evolved into a multifunctional health care service platform with 150 million registered users and a network of 260,000 doctors.

At an intelligent medical conference Nov 11, WeDoctor also launched its cloud platform based on the data accumulated featuring the intelligent doctor, 21st Century Business Herald said.

The intelligent doctor has made breakthroughs in many fields including diabetic retinopathy, cervical cancer screening and bone age assessment.

The company plans to go public on the Hong Kong stock exchange next year targeting a valuation of 5 billion U.S. dollars to 6 billion U.S. dollars, according to an earlier report by South China Morning Post.

Invested by the internet giant Tencent in 2014, WeDoctor is also backed by Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital and Goldman Sachs, which completed its previous funding round in 2015.

Due to the rise of the middle class and the aging population in China, China’s medical market is growing rapidly. Chinese people's medical expenditures are estimated to increase from 357 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 to 1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2020, according to an estimate by Mckinsey & Company.

Hu Xinyi contributed to the story.

Email: zhanglingxiao@nbd.com.cn