Dalian Wanda Group plans to divest all real estate business this year and radically transform to a business management and operation company, said chairman Wang Jianlin. Wang, one of China's richest men, said Wanda will not have any property development projects this year, adding that it will promote asset securitization of Wanda Plaza in the meantime. Wang said the property industry has two large defects. First, it is a cyclical industry that is significantly affected by macro-economy and many companies fail. Second, the cash flow of real estate is not long-term. The real estate market will shrink and the number of companies in the industry will be reduced sharply when the urbanization rate in the country reaches 70 percent, Wang said. Dalian Wanda's revenue fell 5.7 percent to 214.28 billion yuan (HK$248.4 billion) last year as it sought to relieve debt pressure by offloading domestic and overseas holdings amid a government crackdown on leverage and overseas acquisitions.
|