IN BRIEF (Page 13)

REITs may get nod

China plans to allow fund houses and brokerages to launch real estate investment trusts, or REITs, that would be publicly traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, two people with direct knowledge of the proposal said.

REITs should be launched in the form of closed-end funds via special asset management firms, in which property developers can also own a stake, according to draft rules issued by The China Securities Regulatory Commission for consultation, they said.