CHEN Jie (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

This talk provides updates of the ongoing financialization process in the Chinese rental housing sector, focusing on the financial means used by the asset-light “long-term apartment rental” (LAR) firms in this industry. Attention is given to the financial risks as well as tenants’ vulnerability embedded in the new financing strategies used by assetlight LAR firms. The talk offers the knowledge of the heterogeneity of financialization as well as the various impacts of financialization on housing rights and urban governance.