China’s first ancient city protection and renewal real estate investment trust fund product listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange

China News Service, Suzhou, November 3 (Reporter Zhong Xi) "Suzhou Famous Cities - Soochow - Yuanlian - Ancient City Protection and Renewal Phase 1 Asset Support Special Plan" was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on November 3, becoming China's first ancient city protection and renewal real estate investment trust fund (REITs) product.

At the end of 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the "Notice on Relevant Work on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Real Estate Investment Trust Fund (REITs) Market", proposing to continue to increase the supply of high-quality REITs and promote the continuous enrichment of market formats and orderly growth in scale. In October 2026, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Renovation and Upgrading of Old Block Factory Areas", which clarified the tasks of transforming and upgrading old block factory areas and pointed out that eligible projects will be supported in the issuance of REITs in the infrastructure field.

Suzhou is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities in China. In October 2012, the Suzhou National Historical and Cultural City Reserve was established. It is the only national historical and cultural city reserve in China.

This listed project focuses on the 19.2 square kilometers of historical urban areas in Gusu District, Suzhou City. Focusing on the protection of ancient cities, urban renewal, cultural tourism and other fields, it will transform the high-quality cultural, commercial and tourism assets formed by the protection and renewal of ancient cities into securitized financial products, and explore multiple guarantee paths for the protection and renewal of ancient cities. At the same time, it vigorously promotes the continuous revitalization of high-quality historical and cultural assets, providing a replicable "Suzhou model" for the integrated development of protection, renewal and financial empowerment of historical and cultural cities across the country.

This product is sponsored by Suzhou Mingcheng Protection Group Co., Ltd. as the sponsor and credit enhancer. Its issuance has opened up a stable and reliable continuous financing channel. The first issuance size of the product is RMB 556 million, with an issuance interest rate of 1.66%.