China's first international-sponsored retail C-REIT listed on stock exchange

CapitaLand Investment Ltd (CLI), Singapore-based real estate manager, listed CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT (CLCR), China's first international-sponsored retail C-REIT, on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Monday. 

CLCR began trading under the stock code 508091 at 6.84 yuan ($0.96), 19.6 percent above its initial public offering price of 5.718 yuan per unit.

The IPO raised 2.29 billion yuan by issuing 400 million IPO units at 5.718 yuan per unit, exceeding the initial estimate of 2.14 billion yuan by 7 percent.

The listing strengthens CLI's position as the Asia Pacific's largest REIT manager by market capitalization, and expands its REIT management platform into China. With the successful listing of CLCR, CLI now holds stakes in eight listed funds in Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Japan, with a total market capitalization of about 42 billion Singapore dollars ($32.54 billion).

"The successful listing of CLCR marks a watershed moment for both CLI and the C-REIT market," Puah Tze Shyang, CEO of CLI China, said. "Year-to-date, we have recapitalized approximately 5 billion yuan of assets in the country. This will enable us to strengthen our balance sheet and redeploy capital into strategic opportunities aligned with China's economic priorities." 

"The listing of CLCR and our RMB funds also supports our domestic-for-domestic fund strategy to tap into China's substantial capital market to grow our funds under management and recurring fee income," he added.

As of now, there are a total of 51 listed REIT products on the SSE, raising a total of 134.39 billion yuan. The types of underlying assets have continued to expand, while the range of participants and investor profiles has become increasingly diverse, the SSE said. 

Looking ahead, the SSE said efforts will be made to further optimize the REITs market ecosystem, ensure stable and orderly market operations, enhance the sense of gain among market participants, and better support the high-quality development of the real economy.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn