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Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group is making another attempt to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Photo: Nora Tam
BusinessBanking & Finance

Dalian Wanda’s Wang Jianlin makes fourth bid to list Zhuhai Wanda in Hong Kong to avert refund

  • The management unit’s previous listing attempt – made in October 2022 – lapsed in April
  • If the company fails to list by the end of the year, it will have to repurchase 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) of equity from pre-IPO investors
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Mia Castagnone
Mia Castagnone
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Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property developer, has applied for a fourth time to list its management unit on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group’s latest application for an initial public offering (IPO) came on Wednesday night. Parent company Dalian Wanda owns 69.66 per cent of Zhuhai Wanda.

The management unit’s previous listing attempt – made in October 2022 – lapsed in April. Dalian Wanda, founded by Chinese tycoon Wang Jianlin, has submitted an IPO prospectus twice before in October 2021 and April 2022. The unit aimed to raise up to HK$31 billion (US$4 billion) in its previous application.

Zhuhai Wanda’s third IPO application lapsed after Chinese regulators asked Dalian Wanda to provide additional details about its application for the Hong Kong IPO, fuelling concerns about the developer’s liquidity.

Dalian Wanda Group’s Wanda Plaza building is pictured in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

If the company fails to list by the end of the year, it could find itself in deeper trouble, as it would have to repurchase 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) of equity from pre-IPO investors, according to its listing prospectus.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) too had questioned Dalian Wanda in March about the ongoing delays to Zhuhai Wanda’s IPO and its impact on Dalian Wanda Commercial’s debt-repayment capability.

The fresh listing attempt comes just weeks after a Shanghai court ordered 1.98 billion yuan worth of shares in the group’s property-management arm Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group to be frozen until June 4, 2026. The court did not provide reasons. Dalian Wanda said it would appeal the court orders.

In the same week, the property-management unit suffered a credit-rating downgrade, to “BB” from “BB+”, because of its parent company’s weakening liquidity. S&P Global Ratings also added that the downgrade was partly due to extended delays in Zhuhai Wanda’s IPO and weaker-than-expected property sales for Wanda Properties Group.

In May, Wanda fended off rumours it was selling 20 malls for 16 billion yuan and carrying out large-scale lay-offs.

Meanwhile, a debt application filed in November by one of the group’s units, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management, was suspended on Wednesday by the CSRC. It sent some of the group’s units’ bonds spiralling. A bond of Wanda Properties Overseas dropped 0.9 cent to 91 cents on the dollar on Thursday, according to Bloomberg data. The notes of Wanda Properties International, another subsidiary, due February 2026, fell 0.7 cents to 44.2 cents following a 2.1 per cent drop yesterday.

CLSA, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan are the coordinators of the IPO.

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