(Yicai Global) Dec. 9 -- The Shanghai Stock Exchange will ask real estate investment trusts, which raise money to invest in property, to expand their scope and invest in new fields such as new infrastructure and new energy, and will launch a REIT index, according to its chairman.

The SSE will enhance the construction of a REIT market, develop an index, and improve the REIT evaluation system and issuance and trading regime, Chairman Qiu Yong said at the first China REITs Forum yesterday. The bourse will also improve the REIT market makers’ assessment mechanism  and explore exchange-traded funds targeting REITs.

The asset types, product quantity, and market value of China’s REITs have made great progress, and the secondary market has remained generally steady since the launch of the first publicly offered infrastructure REIT in June last year.

“The asset types of REITs approved this year have expanded from traditional infrastructure to other projects such as clean energy and affordable rental housing,” said Cai Jianchun, the SSE’s general manager, “so the REITs market is more diversified.”

Government ministries and commissions have released supportive policies on the transfer and taxation of state-owned assets, with companies being active in the REITs pilot, he added.

Twenty-three REITs with nearly CNY77 billion (USD11.1 billion) of assets have been issued so far, driving project investment to more than CNY400 billion (USD57.5 billion). Fifteen of the REITs raised a total of CNY54.1 billion on the SSE, with nine approved this year alone.

China should prioritize support to projects in key areas such as integrated transport, logistics hubs, large clean energy bases, and environmental infrastructure to further develop the REITs market, Cai noted, adding that the country should also encourage high-quality property developers to issue infrastructure REITs to manage warehousing, logistics, and industrial park projects.

The SSE will form a pool of experts to refine and optimize requirements on the examination and information disclosure of REITs’ investments in tollways, industrial parks, warehousing, logistics, and other fields to advance infrastructure REITs, Cai said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione