China pilots privately offered funds in property sector

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's top securities watchdog, has launched a pilot program for privately offered funds in the real estate industry to meet its reasonable financing demand.

Under the program, a fund should raise at least 30 million yuan (4.38 million U.S. dollars) in the first round of financing. Participating investors, mainly institutional investors, should offer no less than 10 million yuan each. The capital from individual investors should account for no more than 20 percent of the total.

The commission said the pilot would improve the function of the capital market, help the real estate market better deal with inventories, and support the privately offered funds in serving the real economy.

The Asset Management Association of China has also released guidelines that detail the scope of real estate investment and the requirements for fund managers.