Asia is urbanizing rapidly. Currently, about half of all of its residents live in urban areas, and the number of urban residents in Asia is expected to reach 3.3 billion by 2050.

ADBI estimates that at the current urbanization rate, 127,000 people are added to urban centers every day in Asia.

Such a rapidly growing urban population means that cities need to provide new housing for a large number of new residents every year, and governments throughout Asia are struggling to develop an appropriate reply to this challenge.

Many low- and middle-income households in the region lack access to formal finance mechanisms, a prerequisite for housing finance.

Moreover, economic success paired with urbanization has quickly increased the demand for housing in many countries, while the supply of housing has not kept pace. Supply is often constrained by a lack of developable land or uncertain land titles.