The Chinese Housing Provident Fund

The Chinese government has embarked upon an effort to reduce the number of tenants living in publicly owned housing. This is a significant challenge for any government, but may be especially so for a country where private homeownership is a new option. Out of concern that many of its citizens could not afford to purchase their housing units, the Chinese government created the Housing Provident Fund. This program, which is similar to housing fund programs in other countries such as Thailand and Singapore, combines a 401(k)-like savings and retirement account with subsidized mortgage rates and price discounts to provide a mechanism through which an employee could save for, and eventually complete, a housing purchase.