13 Commercial Real Estate REITs Plan to Raise 42.7 Billion Yuan

On March 4th, China Securities Construction Investment First Agriculture Food Group and Huaxin Lujiazui Closed-End Commercial Real Estate Securities Investment Funds both made new progress in their application processes for commercial real estate REITs projects. A review of the REITs project updates on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange official websites shows that since the pilot launch of commercial real estate REITs on December 31, 2025, a total of 14 projects have been filed, with 9 receiving feedback or inquiries from the exchanges.

Currently, except for the Guangfa New City Wuyue closed-end commercial real estate securities investment fund, whose application materials have not been disclosed, the other 13 commercial real estate REITs projects have all disclosed relevant information. An analysis of the prospectus data reveals that these 13 projects aim to raise a total of 42.752 billion yuan, with an average fundraising amount of 3.289 billion yuan, though the operational status of the underlying assets varies.

Commercial Real Estate “Running” into the Market

The deployment of commercial real estate REITs is accelerating. By the end of 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the “Announcement on Launching Pilot Programs for Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust Funds,” explicitly expanding the scope of public REITs beyond infrastructure to include commercial complexes, retail properties, office buildings, hotels, apartments, and more.

Less than a month after the policy was announced, a flurry of applications for commercial real estate REITs emerged, setting new records for public REITs application pace. On January 29, the Shanghai Stock Exchange received applications for the first three commercial real estate REITs, including China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Vipshop; on January 30, it received five more applications, including Huaxia Poly Development.

In February, enthusiasm for filing commercial real estate REITs remained high. On February 3, Huatai Zijin Huazhu Anzhu submitted an application—the first such project on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; between February 5 and 27, the Shanghai Stock Exchange received five additional applications, including Everbright Prudence Everbright Anshi.

Regarding fund managers, all 14 projects are managed by well-known domestic fund management firms and securities asset management companies. Among them, Huaxia Fund manages three projects; Guotai Haitong Asset Management and Huaxin Fund each manage two; and seven other institutions, including CITIC Construction Investment Fund, manage one each. Besides Everbright Prudence, the other nine institutions have successfully issued domestic REITs before, with extensive management experience; Huaxia Fund manages 18 REITs projects.

Why is the application enthusiasm so high? Everbright Securities previously pointed out in a research report that overseas REITs are often launched during downturns in the real estate market, providing companies with a stable equity financing channel, reducing leverage, and optimizing asset structures, thus promoting a shift from “heavy development” to “heavy operation.” Currently, the domestic real estate market remains volatile despite signs of stabilization, and launching commercial real estate REITs could help activate existing commercial assets.

Supported by policies, various market participants in the real estate sector are actively participating in REITs applications to revitalize existing assets. The lineup of original equity holders for the 14 projects also confirms this, including private companies or foreign firms like Intime Department Store, Shanshan Commercial, and CapitaLand, as well as state-owned enterprises or local government entities such as Poly Developments, Shoukai Shares, and Lujiazui Group.

Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, emphasized that the rapid application of 14 projects within just over a month of the initial filings reflects the quick response of original equity holders to the new policies and their urgent need to revitalize assets and recover funds through REITs. It also demonstrates the regulatory authorities’ high regard for this innovative tool and their support for accelerating the landing of quality assets.

Diverse Quality of Underlying Assets

Since the first batch of nine publicly offered REITs listed in 2021, the number of listed REITs in China has reached 79, with a total issuance scale of 203.374 billion yuan (excluding additional fundraising). Under rapid growth, the primary market subscription multiples have hit new highs; for example, the China Nuclear Clean Energy REIT issued in December last year saw an effective offline subscription multiple of 340.47 times, setting a new record in the market.

How about the fundraising scale of commercial real estate REITs? As of this report, 13 projects have disclosed prospectuses, with each aiming to raise over 1 billion yuan, totaling 42.752 billion yuan. The largest planned issuance is the CICC Vipshop closed-end commercial real estate REIT, with a target of 7.47 billion yuan; the smallest is the Jiashi Shoukai closed-end REIT, with a planned issuance of just 1.042 billion yuan.

As for the Guangfa New City Wuyue project, which has not yet disclosed application materials, the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s official approval progress was updated: a correction notice was issued on March 2, and supplementary materials were accepted on March 5. In February, New City Development and New City Holdings held a private roadshow in Hong Kong, revealing that the company plans to issue various types and multi-tiered REIT products, with an assessed total asset value of up to 8 billion yuan.

Compared to the surge in primary market filings, the secondary market performance of public REITs has shown divergence. By the end of 2025, out of 78 listed REITs, 47 increased in value, while 31 declined; as of March 4, 2026, among 79 listed REITs, 60 rose, 18 fell, and 1 remained flat.

The key to this divergence lies in the valuation differences of the underlying assets. In this “race” of commercial real estate REITs, what is the quality of the underlying assets? An analysis of the prospectuses shows that the 13 projects involve seven types of assets: hotels, serviced apartments, office buildings, shopping centers, retail complexes, outlet malls, and community commercial properties, with some projects involving multiple categories.

Specifically, six REITs involve shopping centers, four involve office buildings, two involve retail complexes, hotels, and outlet malls each, and one each involve serviced apartments and community commercial properties. Most of these assets are located in first- and second-tier cities with good locations, such as Qiantan in Shanghai, Huangpu District in Shanghai, and Zhujiang New Town in Tianhe District, Guangzhou.

Operationally, the performance of these 13 underlying assets varies. For example, Guangzhou Poly Center, Shanghai Dingbao Tower, and Harbin Shanshan Outlet have recent leases at full occupancy; meanwhile, the 21 Jinjiang Hotels operated by Jinjiang Hotels had an average occupancy rate of about 61.58% from January to September 2025. A recent report by Cinda Securities expressed cautious views on the profitability of five of these REITs’ underlying assets.

The report pointed out that the hotel occupancy rate of Huaxin Jinjiang REIT is relatively low, requiring observation of its market performance amid stock competition; Huaxin Lujiazui REIT’s retail complex in the northwest area has low occupancy and declining rents; Huaxia Poly Development REIT’s office buildings face short-term competition, and office space may become a source of flexibility for the product.

“Forcing” Commercial Real Estate to Focus on Operations

The review found that the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges have provided feedback or inquiries on nine REITs applications. The regulatory feedback covers multiple aspects, including the qualifications of business participants, compliance procedures, project operation status, asset valuation, management fees, and fund recovery use.

For example, Huaxin Lujiazui REIT’s application mentions that rental income during the reporting period showed negative growth. The office segment was set to have no growth in the first two years, with subsequent growth rates gradually increasing from 2% to 2.5%. For the commercial segment, the first 2-3 years were set to no growth, with later growth rates also increasing from 2% to 2.5%. The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s feedback requested the manager and valuation agency to carefully assess the reasonableness of the long-term growth rate assumptions.

Similarly, Huaxin Jinjiang REIT’s operational data shows that in recent years and the first period, the average occupancy rate, average room price, and per-room revenue have continuously declined. The exchange’s feedback asked the manager to explain the reasons for the decline, considering industry trends, the city and regional market competition, and to fully disclose associated risks.

Yan Yuejin believes that the regulatory and market assessments of underlying assets are comprehensive. Return rates and rental income are the most direct financial indicators; occupancy rates and foot traffic reflect the daily activity and market recognition of the assets; the asset type and floor efficiency indicate operational capabilities; and location and debt pressure relate to the assets’ resilience and long-term stability.

He pointed out that the current intensive application of such REITs indicates that the valuation logic of underlying assets is gradually becoming clear—centered on consumer flow and rental income to build a value system. For real estate companies, REITs are not only a financing tool but also an opportunity to shift from “heavy holding” to “heavy operation.”

“Companies like China Evergrande, which hold large amounts of self-owned commercial properties, will increasingly rely on operational capabilities to unlock asset value.” Yan believes that the launch of REITs is effectively using capital market standards to guide companies to strengthen internal operations, improve floor efficiency, and increase tenant activity, thereby separating assets from management and moving toward a true light-asset operation model.

This year, several listed companies have announced participation in commercial real estate REITs applications or are studying reclassification, including Jiazhe New Energy, Hualian Shares, Shoukai Shares, Everbright Jiaobao, Maoye Commercial, Poly Developments, and Wushang Group. Shoukai and Poly have recently officially started the application process. Will this “application wave” continue and lead to a “listing boom”?

Yan emphasized that “under the premise of ensuring project quality, the rapid issuance and listing of commercial real estate REITs this year is a shared market expectation and an important support for the real economy and consumption recovery.” As channels for commercial REITs open wider, the market is also paying attention to more diversified consumer assets. If operational improvements can stabilize cash flows, similar logic could connect these assets to the REITs market, becoming the underlying assets for future REITs growth.