Carlyle Group LP, one of the world's largest private equity firms, said that it purchased a 13.5 percent stake in Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Co Ltd. The move underlines Carlyle's confidence in the development of preventive healthcare checkup services in China and the role private medical agencies play. The investment capital comes from Carlyle's yuan-denominated fund totaling 5 billion yuan ($789.24 million), which was established in 2010 with Beijing's municipal government, but the detailed amount was not provided. As the Chinese population matures, there is strong domestic demand for preventive healthcare checkup services, Carlyle said. Founded in 2004, Shanghai-based Meinian Onehealth became China's largest private provider of preventive healthcare checkup services in 2011. The company owns a network of 83 clinics in 41 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Chengdu. About 20 of them will open by the end of 2012.