CapitaLand’s China-focused REIT, CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT), is expanding its investment mandate beyond retail properties.

The REIT will now seek to invest in a “diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate and real estate-related assets in China, Hong Kong and Macau”.

These properties may include retail, office and industrial assets, including business parks, logistics facilities, data centres and integrated developments, said the REIT.

Related: CapitaLand Retail China Trust languishes at 5-month lows amid institutional fund outflows

CRCT was listed in December 2006 with an initial portfolio of seven properties worth some SGD689 million (USD505 million).

The REIT has since grown to 13 properties totalling approximately SGD3.5 billion as at 30 June 2020.

“With the expanded investment strategy, CRCT will be better positioned for growth as it will be the dedicated Singapore-listed REIT for CapitaLand Group’s non-lodging China business, with acquisition pipeline access to CapitaLand China’s assets”, said the REIT on 30 September.

“CRCT will also be able to gain exposure to an expanded universe of third party assets of various asset classes that CRCT would independently source and identify”.

This will allow CRCT to seize new opportunities in the growing China real estate market and enhance the manager’s ability to provide long-term and sustainable returns to unitholders”, it added.

CRCT was last done on the Singapore Exchange at SGD1.17, which implies a distribution yield of 5%, according to data compiled on the Singapore REITs table.

By Shariffa Al-Habshee

Shariffa joined REITsWeek in 2017, and monitors Asia-Pacific REITs for the publication.