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Tuesday, August 22, 2017, 13:48
Wanda scraps US$606m London land purchase plan
By Bloomberg
Tuesday, August 22, 2017, 13:48 By Bloomberg

Wang Jianlin, CEO of Dalian Wanda Group Co., arrives for the company's IPO at the Hong Kong stock exchange on Dec. 23, 2014. Dalian Wanda Group Co. scrapped plans to buy a land plot in London for 470 million pounds. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

Billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group Co. scrapped plans to buy a land plot in London for 470 million pounds (US$606 million). 

Wanda’s International Real Estate Center is no longer in pursuit of the 10-acre Nine Elms Square land, the Chinese company said in a statement to Bloomberg on Tuesday. 

On Monday, St Modwen Properties Plc said its venture with Vinci Plc sold the site, though it didn’t identify the buyer.

The move is the latest sign that Wang, who was one of China’s most prolific buyers of overseas assets until last year, is downsizing. Last month, the conglomerate agreed to sell most of its hotels and theme-park assets to Sunac China Holdings Ltd. and Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. for about US$9.5 billion.

One Nine Elms

Wanda still owns the 700-million-pound One Nine Elms twin-tower complex being developed on the south bank of the River Thames. 

Wanda, which had been diversifying away from its property roots and into entertainment in recent years, has interests in hundreds of real estate properties in 65 markets with an estimated property value of about US$40 billion, according to Real Capital Analytics.

Apart from selling assets, Wang is also overhauling his business empire. 

Hong Kong-listed Wanda Hotel Development Co. said earlier this month that it will sell property assets to its real estate affiliate, while shares of the group’s Wanda Film Holding Co. unit have been suspended from trading since early July, pending a restructuring of the company.

Wang told Caixin magazine last month that the group will change its business strategy and will now switch its investment focus to domestic markets. 

Wanda plans to invest in a tourism project in the northwestern Chinese city of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, Gansu Daily reported this month.

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