BEIJING, January 11 (TMTPOST) – The People’s Bank of China, China's central bank, has approved a total of 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) of loans to local government earmarked for buying properties and converting them to rental apartments, in an effort to support eight pilot cities to provide affordable long-term rental housing. The eight cities are Tianjin, Chengdu, Qingdao, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Changchun, Zhengzhou, and Jinan. According to a local government official, starting from March 2023, the cities have begun to search for suitable housing and submit related documents to the central bank. The pilot cities are scrambling for properties fit for the purpose in a competition because this loan is not allocated to them at a pre-fixed amount, but on the basis of “first come, first served.”