（Singapore， 17.04.2025）Today, CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI), Asia Pacific’s largest REIT sponsor-manager by market capitalisation, has filed an application to launch its inaugural onshore real estate investment trust (REIT) in China. According to the release, the proposed CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT (CLCR) would mark a historic milestone as the first international-sponsored retail C-REIT on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the first such listing by a Singapore-headquartered company.
Seeded with two mature retail assets — CapitaMall SKY+ in Guangzhou and CapitaMall Yuhuating in Changsha — CLCR carries a combined asset value of approximately RMB2.8 billion, with a total gross floor area of 168,405 square metres and a strong committed occupancy of 97%.
The move underscores CLI’s strategy to tap into China’s vast domestic capital pool, aligning with broader government efforts to stimulate internal consumption through real estate securitisation. CLI, along with CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) and CapitaLand Development (CLD), will serve as joint strategic investors, collectively holding at least a 20% stake in the REIT.
“The proposed listing of CLCR reflects CLI’s asset-light growth strategy and strengthens our access to perpetual domestic capital,” said Mr. Puah Tze Shyang, CEO of CLI China. “With a portfolio of 43 operational retail properties across 18 cities in China, CLI is well-positioned to support CLCR’s growth while offering investors sustainable returns in one of the world’s most dynamic consumer markets.”
CapitaMall SKY+ is currently jointly held by CLI and CLD, while CapitaMall Yuhuating is owned by CLCT. CLI will remain as the sponsor and asset manager post-listing, retaining operational oversight of both malls.
For CLCT, which is listed in Singapore and focuses on a diversified portfolio spanning retail, logistics and business parks, CLCR offers a new onshore platform to unlock value from mature assets while remaining focused on retail.
“CLCR enhances CLCT’s capital flexibility and supports our diversification strategy in China,” said Mr. Gerry Chan, CEO of CapitaLand China Trust Management Limited. “With separate mandates — CLCT covering Greater China and CLCR focused solely on Mainland China — both platforms will complement each other and widen investor access.”
CLD CEO Mr. Ben Lee added that the listing “completes a full investment-development-management cycle for CapitaLand’s commercial real estate operations in China, revitalising mature assets and improving capital efficiency.”
The proposed listing is subject to regulatory clearance from the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as well as approval from CLCT’s independent unitholders at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting.
If approved, CLCR will reinforce CapitaLand Investment’s leadership in China’s burgeoning REIT market while exemplifying Singapore’s growing role in Asia’s cross-border real asset strategies.
