Downtown Huangpu District government yesterday launched its first low-cost apartment building - transformed from a hotel in the central area - to accommodate financial professionals.

Meanwhile, a 10 million yuan (US$1.46 million) fund has been set up to attract overseas and domestic professionals into the Bund financial area.

The Bund, which was once called the Wall Street of the Far East, is revitalizing its financial image as Shanghai builds itself into an international financial hub.

The 80-plus apartments in the hotel complex will mainly be offered to people working in financial institutions in the Bund's "financial cluster area" which covers 260 hectares.

The complex on Lujiabang Road is affiliated to the government and provides great convenience for people working in the area. Kitchens, laundry rooms and cafes are available in the building.

The building has standard apartments, apartments for single people or a big family and daily rentals. Professionals will only need to pay a third of the rent with subsidies from the district government and their firms.

The daily rent was about 200 yuan and the government needed to subsidize 30,000 yuan for each tenant annually, said Zhang Jihuai, director of the district's human resources and social security bureau.

The rent subsidy will come from the 10 million yuan fund, which will be used to finance a research project to train and reward professionals. The lease term cannot exceed three years.

"Top-level financial people may only need transitional accommodation for a month or two," said Wu Cheng, deputy governor of Huangpu District. "They will soon find a high-paying job and integrate into the city."

The government may cooperate with more hotels to offer low-cost accommodation to professionals if the hotel runs successfully.

Pudong New Area and Minhang District have already built low-cost homes to attract professionals.

But Huangpu, with both high property costs and a great need of professionals, has been struggling to find affordable accommodation due to limited land resources.

Apart from attracting top-level professionals, Huangpu District is also striving to introduce more financial giants into the area by boosting infrastructure, greenery space, high-end commercial areas and other supporting facilities.