Dalian Wanda Group CEO Jianlin Wang is being touted as a strong contender for the richest man title in China since the group’s commercial real estate platform Wanda Commercial Properties was listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) at the offering price of HK$48 per share announced on December 21.
In response to the richest man ranking, Mr. Wang told reporters: “I don’t consider little Ma (Jack Ma) as a competitor”. He went on to say that Wanda hopes to spin off more listing of the group’s 10 registered companies in Hong Kong in the theme parks and hotels sectors.
Wanda Commercial Properties HKSE IPO
The confirmed listing price of HK$48 per H type share for Wanda Commercial Properties is in upper end of the forecasted price range of HK$41.8~HK$49.6 per share. The IPO that is 5.32 times over subscribed is expected to raise HK$28.031billion globally.
Wanda Commercial Properties states in its prospectus that 90% of net proceeds from the listing will be used for developing 10 projects and the remaining funds will be used for working capital and to reduce the company’s debt ratio.
Moody’s Investors Service is positive about the IPO as it will lift Wanda Commercial Properties’ credit rating and help to improve the company’s liquidity and capital structure.
Competition with Disney
Mr. Wang said the Group would shift its development focus to cultural, travel, finance and e-commerce sectors as China’s real estate market has passed its prime. “Our fourth transition plan will be officially announced in January 17 2015,” he told reporters.
He believes that Wanda must focus on developing creative projects that leverage technology solutions and large-scale investments to generate high-volume revenues, similar to the Han Show and Wanda Movie Park in Wuhan. He said the Han Show has generated excellent return on investment, with tickets up to June 30, 2015 sold out within three weeks of launching ticket sales last August.
When asked if the group’s RMB50 billion Wanda Park plan in Guangzhou would be a direct competition with Hong Kong Disneyland, Mr. Wang said: “That is the goal – to compete with Hong Kong Disneyland.”
”Disney theme parks had just below 130 million visitors worldwide in 2013, and this will increase to 160 million by 2020 taking into account the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort in two years and an average annual visitor growth of 4%-5%. Our goal is more ambitious – we aim to have 15 Wanda Parks by 2020 and get 200 million visits in total. We will achieve this if each park attracts 15 million visits a year,” he said.
”Our Wuxi theme park project will compete with Shanghai Disney Resort. If we do well it is possible that we will build theme parks in the USA in the future,” Mr. Wang said, adding that competition is inevitable as any monopoly in the form of state control or market monopoly cannot last.(Translation by David)
