Eligible underlying assets don' t include commercial properties such as shopping malls or offices.

Reits widen the financing channel for infrastructure projects and provide more investment options for investors, said the Shanghai Stock Exchange, where five of the approved Reits will be traded.

The instrument will help reduce China' s macro leverage ratio, and fend off financial risks, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where four Reits will be traded initially, said.

A broader China Reits market that eventually covers commercial properties could reach over US$3 trillion, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate - surpassing the US as the world' s largest.

But China' s Reits market faces numerous challenges including a lack of sufficient returns, stakeholder reluctance as well as legal and tax issues, analysts have said.

One of the approved Reits invests in Chinese warehouses owned by logistics property developer GLP, while another will channel money into an industrial park in Shenzhen, according to the prospectuses.

The nine projects will raise an estimated 30 billion yuan, according to brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. REUTERS