China puts Wanda under spotlight, closes off loan options for breaching investment rule
China’s bank regulator has instructed the country’s largest state-owned lenders to put six of magnate Wang Jianlin’s overseas acquisition projects under an unprecedented level of scrutiny, because they have touched a red line concerning foreign investments, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
China’s bank regulator has instructed the country’s largest lenders to put six of magnate Wang Jianlin’s overseas acquisitions under the spotlight for touching a red line on foreign investments, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Banks are to cut off funding and reject any applications for financing, foreign currency exchange, or restructuring on six purchases by the tycoon’s Wanda Group, four of which have already been completed, based on verbal instructions delivered at a June 20 meeting summoned by the China Banking Regulatory Commission in Beijing, according to sources familiar with the briefing.
Some of the acquisitions were made by Wanda’s AMC Entertainment Holdings unit, which the Chinese company bought in 2012. They include the US$930 million acquisition announced in January for the Nordic Cinema Group, and the US$1.1 billion purchase of Carmike Cinemas, the fourth-largest American cinema operator.
They also cover Wang’s acquisition of the yacht maker Sunseeker International, the Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment, AMC itself, and Odean & UCI Cinemas Group, The Wall Street Journal reported separately.