China nears approval of its first public REITs to ease debt

REITs have become popular around the world among investors seeking access to the real estate sector. The publicly traded trusts typically offer people access to shopping malls and office towers, paying out the vast majority of their income to investors in yields in the range of 4% to 8%.

HONG KONG: China plans to approve its first real estate investment trusts to help local governments finance infrastructure projects while allowing retail investors to tap into what may become a US$3 trillion market.

The regulators may authorise the first few REIT products and get them listed as soon as the first quarter under a trial that began in August, according to sources.