Two Consumer Infrastructure REITs are Launched on SSE
On March 12, 2024, under the guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Huaxia Jinmao Commercial REIT and Harvest Wumart Consumer REIT were launched on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). This marks a further expansion and diversification of China's REITs market, with the pilot program now covering the consumer infrastructure sector.
In October 2023, the CSRC issued a Decision to Amend Article 50 of the Guidelines for Publicly Offered Infrastructure Securities Investment Funds (for Trial Implementation) to expand the scope of the REITs pilot program to include consumer infrastructure. The launch of two consumer infrastructure REITs is a specific implementation of the above arrangement. The underlying asset for the Jinmao project is the Changsha Jinmao Lanxiu City shopping center. As the first Lanxiu City product created by the central enterprise China Jinmao, it has shown good earnings performance and strong market competitiveness. The sponsor of the Wumart project is Wumart Group, an important livelihood enterprise. Its underlying asset is located in the central urban area of Beijing and represents a typical community commercial project with prominent attributes related to people's livelihoods. The launch of the first batch of consumer infrastructure REITs is a specific step taken by the capital market to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, as well as the guiding principles of the Central Financial Work Conference. It will effectively promote "boosting consumption and stabilizing growth", enrich the types of REITs assets and investment targets for investors, and establish a virtuous cycle of "investment, financing, construction, management, and delisting" in the field of consumer infrastructure, injecting new impetus into the sustained and sound development of China's REITs market.
After the launch of two consumer infrastructure REITs, the number of REITs listed on the SSE has reached 23, with a total issuance scale of nearly RMB 80 billion, covering major asset types such as consumer infrastructure, toll roads, industrial parks, sewage treatment, warehousing and logistics, government-subsidized rental housing, and new energy. The market scale effect and demonstration effect have been further enhanced. Moving forward, the SSE will thoroughly implement the guiding principles set forth at the 20th CPC National Congress as well as the NPC and CPPCC Sessions. In accordance with the unified deployment of the CSRC and the NDRC, it will fulfill its responsibilities in market organization, construction, and supervision, steadily and orderly promote the expansion and diversification of the REITs market, deepen the ecological construction of the REITs market, activate the endogenous development momentum of the market, synergize primary and secondary market and boost the coordinated and sound development of investment and financing.