China’s first batch of REITs debuted on Monday with strong initial gains, as the nine real estate investment trusts drew interest from Chinese retail investors.

The Bosera CMSK Industrial Park fund led the pack with a gain of roughly 20% in early morning trade, while AVIC Shougang Biomass fund jumped over 16%.

The PingAn Guangzhou-Heyuan Expressway Fund gained the least, rising roughly 1%.

China is launching a public REITs market to channel private money into infrastructure projects, ranging from toll ways to sewage plants, to ease debt burdens on local governments. REITs trade like stocks but offer stable cash dividends like bonds.

But limited supply of the instruments initially and a sense of novelty are attracting retail interest in REITs, typically favoured by long-term, institutional investors.

All the nine newly-listed REITs – five in Shanghai and four in Shenzhen – opened higher on Monday. (Reporting by , and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Himani Sarkar

Reuters