THE People's Construction Bank of China and the Bank of China have pledged to provide 60 per cent mortgage financing for buyers of office space in a giant property development in Beijing that goes on sale on Monday.
In addition, three leading Hong Kong banks are believed to be vying to join the mainland banks, each hoping to offer similar mortgage packages to buyers in Beijing Huapu International Plaza.
Property consultancy Richard Ellis, which has been advising the Beijing Huapu Science and Technology-led consortium behind the project, said it believed just one bank would be chosen.
It is unusual for a new mainland development to receive such strong mortgage support, especially given Vice-Premier Zhu Rongji's efforts since August last year to curb mainland bank lending to the real estate sector.
''No recent development project in Beijing has received such mortgage support from leading financiers in China,'' said Dominic Leung, head of Richard Ellis' China division.
He was confident such strong support would speed up sales.
