Chinanews.com, February 20. According to news from the official account of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on the 20th, in order to further leverage the advantages of private equity funds in diversified asset allocation and professional investment operations, and meet reasonable financing needs in the real estate sector, the China Securities Regulatory Commission recently launched a pilot project for real estate private equity investment funds. Work.
This pilot work is an important measure for the China Securities Regulatory Commission to implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on "promoting a virtuous cycle and healthy development of the real estate industry", improve the functions of the capital market, promote the revitalization of the stock of the real estate market, and support the private equity industry to play an important role in serving the real economy.
Real estate private equity investment funds have developed into an important investment category in mature overseas markets.
In recent years, some private equity institutions in my country have successively set up private equity funds investing in commercial real estate and infrastructure and registered them with the Fund Industry Association, constantly exploring and accumulating experience in real estate investment operations.
For example, in order to implement the work deployment of the State Council on insisting on both rental and purchase and accelerating the development of the long-term rental housing market, the China Securities Regulatory Commission supports the Construction Bank Housing Leasing Fund to complete the filing with the Fund Industry Association in October 2022.
Due to the large differences between real estate private equity investment funds in terms of investment scope, investment methods, asset return characteristics, etc. Adopt differentiated regulatory policies.
The pilot work follows the principle of pilot first and steady progress. Private equity investment fund managers who meet certain conditions can raise and establish real estate private equity investment funds in accordance with the pilot requirements to conduct real estate investment pilots.
Private equity investment fund managers participating in the pilot work must have a stable equity structure, sound corporate governance, and paid-in capital that meets the requirements. The main investor and actual controller must not be a real estate development company or its related parties. Professionals, no major violations of laws and regulations have occurred in the past three years.
The investment scope of real estate private equity investment funds includes specific residential housing (including stock commercial housing, affordable housing, and market-oriented rental housing), commercial housing, and infrastructure projects.
Considering the characteristics of large scale and long term of real estate private equity investment funds, investors need to have higher risk identification ability and risk bearing ability. The first round of
paid-in capital of investors in pilot fund products shall not be less than 10 million yuan
, and mainly institutional investors.
If there are natural person investors, the total capital contribution of the natural person investors shall not exceed 20% of the paid-in amount of the fund, and there will also be certain restrictions on the fund investment methods.
The scale of the first round of paid-in funds raised by real estate private equity investment funds shall not be less than 30 million yuan, and the fundraising may be expanded if certain requirements are met.
Foreign investors are encouraged to invest in real estate private equity investment funds in the form of QFLP.
In order to adapt to the investment strategy of real estate private equity investment funds, if real estate private equity investment funds provide loans or guarantees for invested companies in accordance with the pilot requirements, they will be subject to restrictions on the ratio of equity to debt in Article 8 of the "Several Provisions on Strengthening the Supervision of Private Equity Investment Funds". Differentiated arrangements, but real estate private equity investment funds must hold more than 75% of the equity of the invested companies, or hold more than 51% of the equity of the invested companies and the invested companies provide guarantees, which can achieve asset control and isolation.
Pilot filing products and their underlying assets should be isolated from the main credit risks of original stakeholders.
At the same time, in order to promote the steady progress of the pilot project of real estate private equity investment funds, this pilot project has put forward regulations on fund custody, essential clauses of fund contracts, related party transactions, fund leverage, prohibited behavior, special risk disclosure, fund filing, information disclosure and reporting. Require.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission will guide the fund industry association to issue specific work guidelines and refine work requirements.
Private equity investment fund managers that meet the requirements of the pilot program may submit relevant materials to the AMAC before carrying out business activities such as fund raising and management, carry out the pilot program of real estate private equity investment funds, and conduct product filing in accordance with regulations.
At the same time, private equity investment fund managers who do not participate in the pilot program can continue to carry out equity investment businesses such as affordable housing, commercial real estate, and infrastructure in accordance with the relevant self-regulatory rules of the association.
In the next step, the China Securities Regulatory Commission will summarize and evaluate in a timely manner based on the actual situation of the pilot work, improve the pilot policies and rules, support private equity funds to continuously enrich product types, and play a functional role in serving the real economy.
(China New Finance and Economics)