China’s Dalian Wanda scraps bid for Bandar Malaysia project after regulatory scrutiny at home

Dalian Wanda Group, the troubled Chinese property-to-entertainment giant, has abandoned its bid for the property portion of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project, the biggest of its kind in Malaysia, only three months after being considered a front runner.

The multibillion-dollar Bandar Malaysia property development project has received nine pitches on how to develop the 197-hectare site, according to a report Tuesday by the Straits Times, which cited Malaysian government officials.

Wanda, which was reported in May to be in the running for the project, was not included among the list of candidates that had submitted proposals to Malaysian authorities, according to the Straits Times report. Seven Chinese and two Japanese firms were cited as applicants to become master developers of the project.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met with Wanda’s founder Wang Jianlin on May 13 in Wanda’s Beijing headquarters, when he led a delegation to attend China’s Belt and Road Forum. Najib at the time praised Wanda’s ability to bring “something extraordinary” to Bandar Malaysia. But after returning to Malaysia, he said that the development model would change, with the ministry retaining ownership of the land and with the possibility that more than one Chinese entity would be involved.

Wanda’s official website said Wang met Najib, without mentioning the project.