"CCB Jianrong Jiayuan", the first-of-its-kind cloud-sharing rental platform, was launched in Guangzhou on May 4, aiming to provide a comfortable rented living space and supportive financial services for local talents.

The platform emerged from the strategic cooperation agreement signed by Guangzhou Development District (GDD) Talent Work Group and the China Construction Bank GDD Branch on November 23, 2017.

As of March 31, 1,215 apartments developed by Guangdong China Construction Bank Jianrong Apartment Development are available on the platform. Among them, 1,154 are in the Zhixiang Apartment, 56 in the Biological Island Apartment, and five in the Xiangxue Apartment.

 District officials and company executives attend the opening ceremony in the Guangzhou Development District on May 4. [Photo provided to eguangzhou.gov.cn]

Another 100 or so apartments will be available by the end of June. Supported by local government, the ultimate goal is to provide 100,000 rental houses to high-end talents in GDD within the next half decade.

The bank not only will grant a 2-billion-yuan ($314-million) worth of loan to GDD Talent Work Group, but will provide associated financial services such as housing loans, credit cards and consumer loans for local tenants.

GDD is home to 1,047 hi-tech enterprises that employ more than 184,000 employees with a bachelor's degree or above, and some 300 high-caliber talents. Desirable housing is seen as crucial in luring more talent to the area, according to Chen Yongpin, president of GDD Talent Work Group.