Alibaba's Cainiao Group plans to apply for the issuance of a public REIT using its Jiaxing logistics park project as the underlying asset.

On the evening of April 27, Alibaba released an announcement titled "Proposed Spinoff Receives Approval from Hong Kong Stock Exchange." The board of directors announced that on March 13, 2026, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange confirmed the company could proceed with the proposed spinoff of an infrastructure REIT on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The announcement stated that Alibaba intends to spin off part of its infrastructure assets by seeking the listing of a real estate investment trust on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The underlying asset for the proposed spinoff is the Jiaxing Park, held by two indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Alibaba, Jiaxing Chuanyun and Jiaxing Chuanxiang. The proposed spinoff is expected to be carried out through the establishment of an infrastructure REIT as a public infrastructure securities investment fund, with China International Fund Management acting as the public fund manager.

It is understood that the announcement refers to Cainiao Group's plan to apply for issuing a public REIT using its Jiaxing logistics park project as the underlying asset. The application has been submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

This means that after the completion of the proposed spinoff, the project company holding the Jiaxing Park will be transferred to special purpose vehicles. Following the spinoff, the project company will no longer be a subsidiary of Alibaba and will not be consolidated into Alibaba's financial statements. In essence, this move can be interpreted as Alibaba spinning off the Cainiao Jiaxing Park from its balance sheet, converting it into a REIT asset jointly held by public market investors.

Since the pilot launch of REITs in China in 2020, several logistics and related sector companies have either completed REIT issuances in the logistics field or are in the project advancement stage. Express delivery industry expert Zhao Xiaomin analyzed that this proposed spinoff has limited impact on the Alibaba Group, representing merely an action to revitalize heavy assets. For Cainiao, which currently focuses on international and technology businesses, this also provides a separate financing channel for its assets.

Zhao Xiaomin believes that the Cainiao Jiaxing Logistics Park, located in the Yangtze River Delta region, operates with relatively high overall occupancy rates and operational efficiency. Furthermore, current policies relatively encourage the issuance of public REITs for infrastructure, particularly logistics warehouses, presenting a good opportunity for Cainiao. The Jiaxing Logistics Park boasts high occupancy rates and stable cash flow. Through the REIT instrument, Cainiao can also unlock asset value and secure more funding support.

Previously, companies like JD.com and SF Express have also initiated infrastructure REITs. Zhao Xiaomin is optimistic about the prospects for Cainiao's public REIT issuance. He mentioned that the market for issuing public REITs in e-commerce cross-border and industrial park logistics warehousing is currently favorable. REITs like the JD Warehouse Logistics REIT conducted follow-on offerings shortly after their initial issuance, allowing more parks to be gradually incorporated into the REIT assets, forming a virtuous capital cycle.