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Wanda hands theme park operations to Sunac

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After selling 13 theme parks to Sunac last year, Dalian Wanda Group Co has now handed over the management to Sunac China Holdings Ltd.

Sunac agreed to pay 6.28 billion yuan ($900 million) for several Wanda-affiliated companies. In a Hong Kong stock exchange filing, Sunac said this was to improve “management efficiency.”

Last year, Wanda sold 91% of its “cultural tourism” business – including theme parks – to Sunac for RMB 29.57 billion ($4.4bn).

At the time, Wanda was to remain responsible for the projects’ operations management under a fee arrangement. However, Bloomberg reports, due to “inconveniences” this has been scrapped. Wanda said in a statement it will continue to invest in the culture and tourism industry.

Wanda has sold off over $11 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg, amid government pressure to stem capital outflow and reduce debt. As well as its 13 theme parks, Wanda has also sold its real estate projects in London and Australia, as well as minority stakes in AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

Earlier this month, China’s ruling Communist Party published a list of the country’s top-100 private sector business leaders which excluded Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin.

Wanda Group is based in Beijing.  It was founded in 1988 and is the world’s largest private property developer.

The sixth Wanda City opened in Harbin last year.  As Blooloop reported this major cultural tourism project covers a gross floor area of 900,000sqm. It combines a mall, an outdoor theme park, three hotels, a stage show and the world’s largest indoor snow park (80,000sqm).  Meanwhile Wanda City Qingdao, which features the world’s biggest movie studio, opened in April 2018. The company is planning more Wuxi and Kunming.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-30/wanda-s-wang-widens-retreat-from-tourism-with-900-million-sale

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Michael Mander

Michael Mander

I am a journalist from Essex, England. I enjoy travelling, and love exploring attractions around the world. I graduated from Lancaster University in 2018. Twitter @michael_mander.

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