(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- China Construction Bank’s CCB Housing Leasing Fund and property developer China Vanke have jointly established a CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) rental housing investment fund. It is the first time CCB has set up this type of fund with a developer.

The fund will invest in first- and second-tier cities with good economic development, net population inflow, large rental demand, and high payment capacity, prioritizing Vanke’s long-term rental apartment assets, The Paper reported today.

The first batch of six projects worth CNY2.4 billion (USD354.4 million) has already been agreed upon. They are Vanke’s in-operation long-term rental apartment projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Wuhan.

CCB Housing Leasing Fund invested about CNY8 billion (USD1.2 billion) and Vanke the rest. The pair may raise up to CNY3 billion later on.

Vanke will also entrust its rental apartment brand Boyu to the new fund to improve operational efficiency. Shenzhen-based Vanke entered the rental housing business in 2014, forming Boyu two years later. Boyu is China’s largest single rental apartment operator, The Paper noted.

Boyu had revenue of CNY2.3 billion in the first nine months of last year, and managed about 215,000 long-term apartments, with an occupancy rate of 95 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione