CHINA’S first batch of nine public infrastructure real estate investment trusts (REITs) will start trading today, according to announcements posted on the websites of the country’s two exchanges. Five REITs will be traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while four others on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The nine REITs have raised more than 30 billion yuan (US$4.68 billion) in total, the data showed. They are expected to channel investment into infrastructure projects such as highways, industrial parks, storage and logistics, and sewage treatment, among others. Earlier in April 2020, China initiated a pilot program on infrastructure REITs to deepen supply-side structural reform in the financial sector and enhance the capital market’s capabilities in supporting the real economy. In mid-May this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the registration of the country’s first batch of nine REITs and May 31 China kicked off the sales of the REITs. The nine REITs were snapped up by retail investors on their first day of sales, according to fund managers and domestic media. As an important approach to realizing real estate securitization, REITs collect investors’ funds and hand them over to professional investment institutions for real estate investment management. REITs trade like stocks on stock exchanges, but promise investors stable incomes from their underlying assets in much the same way as bonds do. (SD-Xinhua) | 