BEIJING (Reuters) - China issued 787.8 billion yuan ($119.2 billion) worth of individual mortgage loans via the housing provident fund in January-October, the housing ministry said on Thursday.
The housing provident fund is a kind of social insurance that allows Chinese employees to save money toward purchasing their own homes.
Housing fund deposits nationwide totaled 1.53 trillion yuan while withdrawals reached 1.03 trillion yuan during the first 10 months of the year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on its website.
China has tightened rules on home buyers borrowing from the housing provident fund to rein in skyrocketing property prices in many cities that have fueled fears of a growing bubble.