China has officially kicked off its long-awaited public REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, market. Nine REITs are now publicly being offered on the country's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. This is China's first batch of REITs which allow retail investors to participate in the real estate market.

The new REITs will channel money raised into infrastructure sectors ranging from toll roads to wastewater treatment, but exclude commercial and residential real estate. The country's regulators have long mulled using the infrastructure REITs market as a way for local government to finance infrastructure projects.