One of the biggest Chinese asset buyers says Wanda’s spendthrift, cash-burning days are over
Group to slash debt, sell non-core assets and target 9 per cent increase in 2018 revenue.
Dalian Wanda Group, one of China’s biggest private enterprises, will further cut debt “through all available means”, including the sale of non-core assets and stake disposal on the basis of maintaining power of control, said group founder and chairman Wang Jianlin.
Wanda will require “two to three years to bring down debt to an absolutely safe level” and will “avoid any credit default globally”, he said in a speech to staff members on January 20 that was cited by the company’s website on Sunday.
Offshore groups wholly or partly owned by Dalian Wanda have US$10.7 billion in outstanding long-term debt, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The group – along with Anbang Group, HNA Group and Fosun Group – was put under a spotlight by the Chinese government last year for running up large amounts of debt to fuel acquisitions.
Wang offloaded most of Dalian Wanda’s hotel and tourism portfolio to rivals for US$9.3 billion in July.
“We only need to sell half our overseas assets to pay off all the debt, which shows that we made money between when we bought and sold them,” said Wang, without specifically stating which businesses could be sold.