CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Zheyuan Jin, Xiang Mao and Lingyue Sun, Merits & Tree Law Offices
Merits & Tree Law Offices 27F Tower A, THREE ITC No.183 Hongqiao Road Xuhui District Shanghai 200030 China Tel: +86 21 5253 3513 Fax: +021 5253 3599 Email: zheyuan.jin@meritsandtree.com Web: www.meritsandtree.com
REITs on Commercial Real Estate Projects: Official Launch of Core Policies 2025 marked a pivotal year for the implementation of China’s commercial real estate REITs policies. Break - ing the previous restriction that confined commercial properties to being issued only as part of infrastruc - ture bundles, the authorities formally established an independent pilot framework with the release of core policies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the Announcement on Launching the Pilot Programme of Commercial Real Estate Investment Trusts (CSRC Announcement [2025] No 21), which identifies commercial real estate including commercial complexes, retail properties, commercial office build - ings and hotels as being eligible underlying assets for REITs. Concurrently, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released the 2025 Edition of the Industry Scope List for Infrastructure REIT Projects, classifying commercial office facilities (including Grade A and super Grade A office projects in mega and large cities) as a standalone issuance category. As a follow-up, Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) jointly issued detailed rules for the commercial real estate REITs pilot programme. These rules: • establish a green channel and fast-track review mechanism; • streamline application procedures;
• specify requirements for ongoing information dis - closure, operation and management, valuation and pricing, and M&A during the project life circle; and • unify information disclosure standards and review criteria, laying an institutional foundation for the concentrated submission of projects beginning from 2026. By the end of 2025, a total of 78 public REITs had been listed on China’s domestic market, with an aggregate issuance size exceeding CNY209.9 billion. In 2025 alone, 20 new REITs were issued, raising a total of CNY46.8 billion (including CNY6.02 billion from fol - low-on offerings). Following the policy implementation in late December 2025, a wave of project applications emerged rapidly in early 2026. As of 15 March 2026, SSE has accept - ed and received applications for 13 commercial real estate REITs, while SZSE has accepted and received applications for two. Individual offering sizes range from CNY1 billion to CNY7.5 billion. The upcoming projects list features big-name developers and inves - tors, such as ChinaAMC Yintai Department Store REITs (offering size: CNY4.2785 billion) and Everbright Commercial Complex REITs (offering size: CNY4.905 billion). In this very beginning of the surge of commercial real estate REITs, market participants are dominated by top-tier public fund managers, central government- owned real estate enterprises and leading commer - cial operation groups, covering the full spectrum of
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