The Government has good intentions in introducing property crowdfunding initiative, the first such financial innovation in the world, but proper studies need to be carried out, said the Council of Eminent Persons Chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin.

He said the peer-to-peer (P2P) home financing initiative, announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng during the 2019 Budget tabling recently, was something new.

“It’ll be the first time a country is attempting this to help bridge the gap between low wages and high property prices.

“So we should see more studies being carried out on practical ways to implement this,” Daim said on the sidelines of the Affin-Hwang Capital Conference Series 2018 yesterday.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed confidence that the property crowdfunding solution would help drive the building of one million houses over 10 years.

The scheme, to be regulated by the Securities Commission, will offer first-time house buyers the chance to pay only 20% to own a house while the remaining cost will be borne by investors via a P2P financing framework.

When tabling the budget last Friday, Lim said the first exchange was expected to go live in the first quarter of 2019.

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