<article>China-based rental apartment operator <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.52mf.com.cn/" target="_blank">Mofang Gongyu or Mofang Apartment</a> has raised $300 million in a Series C round, according to a press release.</article>

China-based rental apartment operator <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.52mf.com.cn/" target="_blank">Mofang Gongyu or Mofang Apartment</a> has raised $300 million in a Series C round, according to a press release.
The round was led by China-based financial conglomerate <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://trust.avic.com" target="_blank">AVIC Trust</a>, and saw participation from a subsidiary of <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/Warburg-Pincus" target="_blank">Warburg Pincus</a>, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.
Warburg Pincus is also an existing investor of Mofang.
Founded in 2009, Mofang is said to operate 150 apartment complexes in 15 Chinese cities. It owns 25,000 apartment units that service close to 40,000 tenants. Its apartments are said to come with amenities like gyms and cafes that cater to a young, urban demographic.
Mofang intends to introduce new products and sub-brands into the market to cater to different needs in the rental market including a premium brand of larger for-rent apartments targeted at senior professionals and mid-level managers, and a less costly group-renting apartment model for junior workers in the service industry. It also has plans to operate 300 apartment complexes by end-2016, it said in the release.
&#8220;Our partnership with AVIC Trust is a strong testament to the long-term potential of the for-rent apartment industry in China and Mofang’s business model,&#8221; said Glen Ge, chairman of Mofang.
Jiangtao Yao, general manager, AVIC Trust, added, &#8220;The for-rent institutional apartment industry directly plays into the favorable policies of the Chinese government as well as a strong market demand. As the earliest entrant into the industry, Mofang has played an important role in shaping and leading the industry’s healthy growth.&#8221;
According to Joseph Gagnon, managing director of Warburg Pincus, Mofang is well-positioned to seize the opportunities in the fast-growing industry, with its capital advantages and market leading position.
In a survey released by Dingding Rent, a Chinese home rental company, about seven million or nearly one-third of the total population in Beijing lived in a rented apartment in 2015, according to a <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://en.yibada.com/articles/112176/20160328/chinese-prefer-renting-homes-according-survey.htm">report</a>.
Reasons could range from inability to purchase an apartment due to cost factors, to reluctance to buy a place, said the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ce80021e-f036-11e5-9f20-c3a047354386.html#axzz45hGkoztY" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>, in a report on the typical Chinese millennial becoming more enthusiastic about co-living, instead of settling down with a mortgage.
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The round was led by China-based financial conglomerate AVIC Trust, and saw participation from a subsidiary of Warburg Pincus. 

China: Mofang Apartment raises $300m Series C from Warburg arm, AVIC

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China: Mofang Apartment raises $300m Series C from Warburg arm, AVIC

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