Zhang Yan: It is recommended to combine the reform of the housing provident fund system with the construction of rental housing and the development of rented housing REITs

In July 2021, as the National Development and Reform Commission released the "No. 958", affordable leased housing was included in the scope of the infrastructure REITs. After the active promotion of regulatory authorities and parties in the industry over the past year, on August 31, 2022, Red Earth Shenzhen Anju REIT, Zhongjin Xiamen Anju REIT, Huaxia Beijing Affect Housing REIT was officially launched The scale is 3.797 billion yuan, which is the further expansion of the Chinese public offering REITs covering the asset field. Since being officially accepted by the exchanges, the three -order pilot project has continued to receive close attention from the market. The online and online subscription multiple of the distribution links have exceeded 100 times, which reflects the high recognition of the market for rent -protection houses.

The Chinese economy has entered a new stage of development, and the problem of structural problems has become a key point for achieving high -quality development. How to achieve common prosperity, how to achieve the smooth transformation of the real estate industry, and how to further play the function of the capital market is the three structural issues currently facing my country. These problems have intertwined and influenced each other, which exacerbates the difficulty of reform. The key to breaking the question is to find the intersection of these issues. The launch of the affordable rental housing REITs is not only the linear continuation of the Chinese public offering REITs pilot, but also the intersection of the three major structural issues. Major reform measures such as good capital market functions.

Affordable leased housing REITS is a major reform measure that directly responds to the three structural issues of my country's high -quality development of China's economy

First, affordable leasing REITs is a policy choice for expanding domestic demand and achieving common prosperity.

my country's income inequality is mainly reflected in the dual structure of urban and rural areas. In 2020, the disposable income of urban residents in my country is 2.56 times that of rural residents, and it has reached 2.66 times in the western region. The disposable income of a large number of rural residents is very low, and the proportion of property income is lower. To achieve common prosperity and tolerance growth, the income gap between urban residents and rural residents must be reduced. This is the biggest problem for China's high -quality development and sustainable balanced development. An important reason for the formation of urban and rural dual structures is that the citizenship of agricultural transfer population is very low. Their effective working hours, sources of income, and development opportunities are different from urban residents, and they are not equivalent to enjoying public services. A large part of migrant workers and flexible employees in cities really transform into new citizens is the key to solving the dual structure of urban and rural areas in China and narrowing the gap between urban residents and rural residents. It is also a feasible policy path.

China, which realizes socialist modernization in 2035, needs to be matched with employment structure and industrial structure. According to the estimates of Peking University's Guanghua Ideological Research Group, in the next fifteen years, more than 20%of the employment population, that is, 150 million people, need to be re -configured to the second industry or service industry. In the case of changes in industrial structure and population flow, the urbanization of agricultural transfer will bring a lot of housing demand, especially the demand for housing leasing.

Supporting housing REITs can promote the large -scale and professionalization of affordable rental housing. Different new citizen groups provide different demand supply, so that the agricultural transfer population can live in the city. When the city has a large population flow, the level of optimization of its industrial structure and the investment efficiency in the public service field will be improved. From the perspective of new citizens, the agricultural transfer population can live in the city. Their consumption capacity and investment of their human capital will also increase. Important ways to develop unequal issues.

Second, affordable leasing REITs helps promote the transformation of my country's real estate industry to a new development model.

Since the launch of real estate reform in 1998, my country's real estate industry has gone through a high -speed development stage of more than 20 years. In recent years, the real estate has gradually entered a new stage of equal emphasis on the stock and increase in the incremental stage. It has been unsustainable for the "fast week" business model with commercial housing development as the core. my country's real estate industry is generally facing greater strategic transformation pressure. "Holding Real Estate" is an important direction for the transformation of the domestic real estate industry, and the specific type of assets of "affordable rental housing" provides an important realistic grasp for the smooth transition of the entire industry. On the one hand, affordable rental housing is in the stage of rapid development in my country, and there will be large investment construction needs in the future; on the other hand, affordable rental housing has a certain relationship with traditional residential business in terms of product form and management model Provide a reasonable and feasible transformation option for real estate companies.

Affordable leased housing REITs, as a mature asset holding platform for equity type, can provide effective exit channels for affordable rental housing companies, so that enterprises will form a closed loop of project development and exit while not accumulating liabilities, forming sustainable development of sustainable development The new model of "development, operation, and activation" increases the ratio of the equity financing ratio of the rental housing industry, and reduce leverage and financial risks of the rental housing industry.

The development and growth of affordable rental housing REITs will help improve China's current market structure, promote the development of the housing rental market towards large -scale, institutionalized and professional development. Housing is conducive to solving the problem of unbalanced supply structure in the current housing rental market; at the same time, by improving the leasing service level, stabilizing the lease relationship, standardizing the main behavior of the leasing market, and protecting the rights of tenants Stability and other issues. Third, affordable leasing REITs is a concrete manifestation of further exerting the function of the capital market and serving the high -quality development of the economy.

At the end of 2020, the Central Economic Work Conference emphasized that "highly attaches great importance to the construction of housing for affordable lease", "accelerate the improvement of long -term rental policies", and establishes one of the eight key tasks of economic work in 2021. The government work report pointed out in 2021: "Effectively increase the supply of affordable rental housing and co -ownership housing" and "do their best to help new citizens and young people to alleviate housing difficulties." The 14th Five -Year Plan and the 2035 Far View Target Outline clearly stated that "accelerate the cultivation and development of the housing leasing market, effectively sell the existing housing resources, and effectively expand the supply of urban rental housing in an orderly manner."

During the "Fourteenth Five -Year Plan" period, 40 key cities across the country planned to add 6.5 million (room) to affordable rental housing, which is expected to help 13 million new citizens and young people alleviate housing difficulties. At the same time, we also see that under the original investment and financing model, the guarantee rental housing industry still faces challenges in terms of land costs, funding sources, and operating management efficiency, and REITs, as an innovative product that naturally matches the heavy asset industry, is for the industry. For the industry The solution of current related issues has a key role.

The development of affordable leasing housing REITs is to help the housing leasing market "drive increment" by stock. During the "Fourteenth Five -Year Plan" period, the task of construction of affordable leasing housing is arduous, and the source of funds is undoubtedly an important factor in whether the national strategic goal can be achieved. By issuing affordable leased housing REITs to activate and mature stock assets, and use the recycling funds for new project construction, it will help build a virtuous circle of rent -keeping investment and achieve "incremental increase" by stock. REITs, as a financial product that is publicly issued in the capital market, has a low investment threshold and can make the most wide range and maximum use of social funds to further enhance the participation of social capital in the field of affordable leased housing.

The development of affordable leasing housing REITs is a feasible choice for optimizing the existing financing methods of housing rental companies. At present, asset IPO (REITs) may be more suitable tools than leased housing companies. The value of REITs lies in continuous and stable rent cash flow, and growth is not the key to valuation. The valuation logic of the stock market (especially the A -share market) has grown and light cash flow. Therefore, REITs's valuation logic is more matched with the business logic of rental housing, which can form a benign market incentive.

The pilot project of the three -order rental house ReITS has achieved a good demonstration effect

Since the scope of the pilot scope of infrastructure REITs is included in affordable leased housing, it has continued to receive great attention from the market. The successful listing of the three -order pilot project this time is not only highly recognized by market investors during the issuance stage, but also in terms of industry models, system construction, operating processes, valuation pricing, etc. Development has played a good demonstration effect.

First, to open the cycle of "fund -raising and regression", the effect of "increased the increment" with the stock is significant. The three -order rental house REITS fund, which was issued and listed this time, issued a total of 3.797 billion yuan. After deducting the strategic distribution and repayment of the stock borrowing, the cumulative net recovery funds exceeded 2.2 billion yuan. At the same time, according to the disclosure of public documents such as the Recruitment Manual, the original equity of the three leased housing REITs intends to use all the net recovery funds for the construction of new affordable rental housing projects, involving at least 8 projects, and conservatively estimated the total total investment in total investment. The scale exceeds 30 billion yuan.

Second, improve the construction of the system and implement the development positioning of the "housing and not speculation" industry. On May 27, 2022, the General Office of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Notice on Regulating the Work of Reist Trust Fund (REITS) in the field of pilot housing pilot housing for affordable leased housing" (发 [2022] No. 53) clearly requires that "the initiator (primitive rights) should be an independent legal person in which the housing business of affordable leasing housing shall not be able to carry out commercial housing and commercial real estate development business." On this basis, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Exchange has released the "Public Raising Infrastructure Securities Investment Fund (REITs) Rules (REITs) Rules (REITs) Rules No. 4 -Affordable Rental Housing (Trial)". Personnel and institutions have put forward further specific measures with the effective isolation of commercial housing and commercial real estate development business.

The first batch of affordable rental housing REITs projects (Shenzhen Talent Anju Group, Xiamen Anju Group and Beijing Security Housing Center) are special companies that engage in affordable rental housing business in the region. The concept of special funds and dedicated responsibility ", in terms of legal status, construction subjects, capital use, etc., at the same time strengthen information disclosure work, effectively avoid the risk of raising funds into the real estate market. Third, a reasonable solution is proposed for the diversity of the distribution. Most of the existing affordable rental housing in my country is formed on the basis of the original type of rental housing stock assets, and it has been transformed through the NARD identification procedure. Therefore, my country's affordable leasing housing industry has shown strong diversity and differences in the type of land ownership, product market positioning, business management model, and pricing adjustment mechanism. Objectively, this also enhances the affordable rental housing REITS product Release complexity.

The first batch of affordable leased housing REITs conducted useful exploration attempts in all aspects: in terms of land acquisition, Xiamen Anju Project transforms its land for transfer by replenishing land on the basis of the original landing land; In terms of, there are both public rental housing for basic people's livelihood guarantee, but also a talent room that mainly serves "new citizens" such as new graduates and young people. The differences in multiple key cities, the differences in the transfer restrictions and pricing adjustment mechanisms, have also been fully research and demonstrated in the pilot process.

Fourth, give full play to the price market pricing function, and initially build a housing valuation system for affordable rental housing. Instant rental housing has developed short development in my country, lacks market transactions, and rents pricing and adjustment mechanisms are still exploring and optimizing. Therefore, the valuation pricing problem of affordable leased housing is always a core focus when issuing REITs. How to determine the discount rate, how to predict the growth level of the future rent, what the relationship between the assets of different regions in pricing, the risk -income preference for the capital market for the rented house REITs In the process of promoting, many preliminary results of reference to the market have been formed.

At present, in these three-order rental house REITs, there is no significant difference between different projects in different locations. Generally, it is in the range of 6.0%-6.5%. Industrial Park REITs products are relatively similar. In terms of rental growth rate prediction, the three -order pilot project generally adopts the prudent prediction method of "market -based rent adjustment as a reference, taking into account the attributes of people's livelihood attributes to rent a housing society". mild. From the perspective of the capital market, on the one hand, the prices of the list of listed projects on the one hand provided a reference basis for the pricing of the rent -protection house. The discovery function can provide better pricing guidance for the investment and construction of the housing industry in the affordable leasing housing industry.

Four suggestions on the future development of affordable rental housing REITs

The good socio -economic utility of the affordable rental housing REITs has begun to appear. In order to more effectively promote the continuous expansion of affordable leased housing REITs and help my country's affordable rental housing industry to accelerate the development of the housing industry, it is recommended to optimize the following aspects:

First, further encourage multi -subject and multi -type assets to participate in the issuance of REITs products. In terms of primitive equits, the first batch of pilot projects is mainly concentrated in leased housing operating enterprises with the nature of local governments. In the future, it can further encourage private enterprises and real estate background companies to participate in the issuance of REITs products for leased housing. In addition, the corresponding affordable leased housing projects other than the land acquisition method other than the land for transfer (allocated land, village collective land, etc.) can further explore the feasibility of issuing REITs. Encourage various market entities to participate in the operation of the underlying assets of the REITs REITs, and improve the quality of asset operation.

Second, in terms of taxation, in accordance with the principles of tax neutrality, we will improve supporting tax policies for affordable housing. With the release of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation No. 3 in January this year, some important issues of infrastructure REITs have been clearly arranged in some important issues of the distribution and reorganization links and continuity operation links. However, in the field of affordable leased housing, whether some tax policies in China can be generally applied to the existing housing security system (such as tax -related tax discounts in public rental housing), and whether it will have some tax policies that have been enjoyed after the confirmation of the insurance. The impact still needs to be given further guidance to the tax department.

Third, formulate a reasonable and stable subsidy policy and rental adjustment mechanism, build a business logic that conforms to the guarantee of guarantee attributes, and form a long -term mechanism for the development of affordable rental housing. Because there are many differences in subsidy policies and rental adjustment mechanisms related to affordable rental housing in various places, and the actual implementation situation is different from the degree of fit in existing policies, so in terms of the valuation pricing of REITs, the subsidy is about subsidies. The forecast of future rental growth is still a common problem. From the perspective of the industry's overall more transparent and professional development, it is recommended to continue to optimize the rent subsidy policy and rent adjustment mechanism, explore the combination of social livelihood attributes and REITs market -oriented logic to form a more scientific and stable long -term development mechanism. Fourth, combine the reform of the housing provident fund system with the construction of rental housing and the development of rented housing REITs to promote the construction of a new housing system. On the one hand, the housing provident fund uses equity investment methods to participate in the construction of affordable leasing housing with the supply side with housing rental enterprises, social capital, etc.; on the other hand, housing rental companies are mainly new citizens, young people, and agricultural transfer population who pay the provident fund. Various types of tenants provide vocational duty, cost -effective, and multi -level housing products, and tenants enjoy a certain rental discount. This scheme is not only conducive to agricultural transfer population into the city, eliminating various inequality phenomena formed due to "identity recognition", but also effectively expand the deposits of housing provident funds, increase the investment income of housing provident funds, and make the provident fund deposit payment. Supplement of human pensions. In addition, industries related to the upstream and downstream facilities of rental housing can develop, and community construction will become one of the pillars of social stability.

(Zhang Yan, a professor of finance and deputy dean of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University)

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