China Re Asset Management Teams up with GCL for Nanjing’s First Long-term Rental Apartment Project
GCL has new achievements in echoing the country’s efforts in rental housing sector. China Re Asset Management has signed a cooperation agreement with the Nanjing Jiangning Development Zone and GCL Group in Nanjing for the purpose of jointly undertaking a long-term rental apartment project in the Jiangning Development Zone. Those present at the signing ceremony included ZHANG Jinghua (standing member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee), LI Shigui (secretary of the Jiangning District Committee), YANG Xuepeng (standing member of the Nanjing Municipal Committee and deputy mayor of Nanjing), XU Shuhai (standing member and chief secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee), LUO Yanjun (deputy director of the Insurance Fund Supervisory and Management Department at the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission—CBIRC), LI Wanping (director of the Jiangning Development Zone Administrative Committee), ZHAO Wei (chairman of China Re Asset Management), and ZHU Gongshan (Chairman of GCL Group).
Chairman Zhu Gongshan stated that GCL, as a nationally leading enterprise in new energy technology, will provide sustainable-living support for the project. GCL will bring its make use of its full potential by actively learning from others and bringing in what the company has learned from experienced, world-class companies in the same industry. GCL will put green concepts into practice, share ideas, and actively guide people in changing their traditional concepts of rental housing so as to bring about a positive impact on society.
YANG Xuepeng stated that this long-term rental apartment project is an important measure in Nanjing’s implementation of direction from the central government, and it is thus necessary for us to do our utmost toward making it an exemplary success of premium quality. He expressed hopes that the collaboration among China Re Asset Management, GCL, and the Jiangning Development Zone would focus on meeting national housing system reform requirements and demands placed on construction aimed at making Nanjing an innovative, well-reputed city; that the three organizations would pool their strengths and work together in an innovative way so as to boost construction quality; and that all related government agencies in Nanjing and Jiangning would do everything possible to ensure the success of the project, working together to make Nanjing a paragon in long-term rental housing and thus leading a new trend in the housing rental sector.
After offering congratulations on the signing of the agreement, LUO Yanjun stated that this model will lead the sustained investment of insurance capital into the long-term rental housing market, offering support to housing supply system reforms focused on both renting and buying. In recent years, insurance-capital investment methods have become more flexible, and the way they serve the real economy has continually enhanced and enlarged in scale, which strongly supports the development of the local economy. At the same time, risk prevention must be of utmost importance. Those involved must have the capacity to immediately discover, thoroughly evaluate, and properly respond to all types of risk that may arise during the investment process.
LI Shigui stated that long-term rental apartments are an emerging rental housing model birthed by the guidance of China’s national housing policies, and it has extreme potential for the market. The collaboration between China Re Asset Management, GCL Group, and Jiangning District is a project to build long-term rental apartments on land occupied by old industrial factory sites. It is not only a profitable exploration of social capital being used for the rental housing system but also a way for Jiangning to further intensify reform in the local housing system, propel the replacement of secondary industry with tertiary industry on urban land, and create an ecology geared toward innovation and creativity, all of which will inject new life into the economy.
This is China’s first long-term rental project to be financed by private equity from the insurance industry. The total amount of investment into the project will reach 8 billion RMB. All of the housing will be maintained and rented out by the companies involved over the long term. Once complete, the project will provide over 4,000 green, smart homes, making it the first long-term rental housing project in Nanjing and, in fact, all of Jiangsu.
The project resources are being completely and actively managed and coordinated by China Re Asset Management, a subsidiary of China Reinsurance Corporation that specializes as a platform for private insurance equity investment. As a specialist in private insurance equity management, China Re Asset Management has always held firm to its development concept of “investing in the insurance industry and the real economy of insurance services.” China Re Asset Management’s plan to invest 20 billion RMB from private insurance equity into the long-term rental housing market is the company’s response a call by the central government and the direction being taken by CBIRC’s Insurance Fund Supervisory and Management Department. It is thus an important measure toward providing support to real economy development. During the signing ceremony, ZHAO Wei, chairman of China Re Asset Management, stated that his company sees the project as a breakthrough as it will maximally boost the company’s professional capacity and investment experience in the long-term rental apartment sector, allowing the company to play a greater role in the long-term rental apartment industry financed by insurance equity.
The pre-project studies, policy support, and initiation of the project carried out by the Jiangning Development Zone authority involved extensive meticulous work, and with its supervision of the construction, development, and operation throughout the project, it will guarantee freedom from the worries of speculation and ensure people’s right to housing.
All present witnessed LÜ Ri (general manager at China Re Asset Management), YU Gang (Vice-president of GCL Group), and LI Wanping (director of the Jiangning Development Zone Administrative Committee) sign the agreement. Others present included representatives from Nanjing’s Development and Reform Commission, Housing and Construction Commission, Bureau of Land and Resources, Urban Planning Bureau, Environmental Protection Bureau, Bureau of Commerce, and fire brigade as well as related agencies from Jiangning District.
