Recently, “Shougang Green Energy” was successfully listed as one of the first nine public real estate investment trusts (REITs) in China. This is another major breakthrough in Shougang’s reform and innovation in the first year of the “14th Five-year Plan”, marking its transformation on the “first bus” of public REITs and entry into a new chapter. It is of great strategic significance for the Group to explore the path of asset transformation from heavy to light, effectively revitalize its existing assets and improve its level of asset securitization. Meanwhile, it provides new ideas for the Group’s environmental industry development, as well as valuable experience and broad prospects for the future management and sustainable development of its park assets.

The public REIT is a major innovation of the national investment and financing mechanism in the field of infrastructure, filling the gap for current financial products and broadening the investment channels of social capital. The infrastructure public REIT established by the Lujiashan Biomass Energy Project of Shougang is the “AVIC Shougang Biomass Closed Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund” (“Shougang Green Energy” for short), which is one of the first batch of REIT pilot projects in the infrastructure field in China. This pilot is an active exploration of the Shougang Group, as a representative of state-owned enterprises in Beijing, participating in the promotion of the REIT pilot by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), as well as an important measure for Shougang to actively promote the “Double-Hundred Action” plan and comprehensive reform pilot, implement the three-year action plan of SOE reform and promote the high-quality development of its enterprises. It is also an effective way for Shougang to further broaden its financing channels, raise project capital extensively and reduce financial leverage, as well as an important means of seizing opportunities and providing effective support for the development of new industries through the integration of industry and finance, thereby further promoting high-quality development.

Focusing on the REIT pilot project, Shougang attaches great importance to overall planning, seizes opportunities and makes concerted efforts and active declarations, which fully reflects the blood of reform and innovation flowing in the veins of Shougang people. Since the official launch of the public infrastructure REIT in 2020, with the support and guidance of national ministries and commissions and Beijing Municipality, the Shougang Group has actively laid it out as a strategic business and effectively integrated the REIT elements of high-quality basic assets, public fund manager licenses and operating service agencies, forming a complete closed loop commercial chain and a platform with comprehensive advantages in industry and finance. Shougang engages in a large number of infrastructure industries such as the environmental industry, static transportation, parks, etc. The Group’s leaders led a rapid and detailed sorting of assets, and finally decided to declare the Lujiashan Biomass Energy Project as the underlying asset.

In promoting the pilot work, the Shougang Fund and Shougang Environmental Company actively carried out project docking and completed all preparations. At the beginning of 2020, the Shougang Fund strategically invested in the AVIC Fund and obtained the public fund license. In the operation of the infrastructure REIT project, the Shougang Fund and AVIC Fund teams jointly built a professional team with a complex professional background and multi-knowledge systems, thereby ensuring the smooth launch of the REIT pilot project.

Before the opening, the listing ceremony of the first batch of SZSE infrastructure public REITs was held at the listing hall of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Zhao Minge, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of the Shougang Group, said in his video speech that under the strong support of various ministries and commissions and Beijing Municipality, the “Shougang Green Energy” Project, with the Lujiashan Biomass Energy Project as its underlying asset, had been approved by the CSRC and registered, and that investors favor REITs and are even more discerning about “Shougang Green Energy”. It has set a new record for the public subscription multiple of public funds, which not only demonstrates the attraction of REITs, but also the value of state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, the listing of “Shougang Green Energy” marks the successful transformation of Shougang on the “first bus” of public REITs and entry into a new chapter.

Zhao Minge added that “Shougang Green Energy”, as the first REITs pilot for solid waste treatment in China, is not only a key project for Beijing to practice the concept of green development at a higher level, but also an important measure for Shougang to promote the high-quality development of its enterprises. This “meeting” of industrial capital and the Shougang Group contributes to mutual industrial empowerment and joint investment, wherein the old Shougang gains new vitality, and capital extends along a new track.

As a new category of asset in China’s capital market, the first batch of public REITs has been extremely popular. According to the opening price on that day, among the nine public REITs, “Shougang Green Energy” opened up by 20% and closed up by 9.95%, ranking first again after multiples of institutional subscription and public subscription.