In response to the Chinese government's bid to boost rental housing supply in the country, Bank of China Ltd. agreed to provide eight major property companies at least 200 billion Chinese yuan, Reuters reported, citing a release by the bank.
The companies set to receive the funding include China Vanke Co. Ltd., Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd., China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd., China Resources Land Ltd., Longfor Properties Co. Ltd., Greentown China Holdings Ltd., Poly Real Estate Group Co. Ltd. and China Merchants Property.
The companies will use the funds to develop new rental housing projects and to convert existing commercial projects into rental homes, the bank said, according to the report.
Since late 2016, the Chinese government has been strongly encouraging the development of rental apartments as a way to increase new housing supply in major cities and curb overheated home prices.
As of Feb. 1, US$1 was equivalent to 6.23 Chinese yuan.
