Wang Jianlin vigorously promoted light assets, and the 12th Wanda Plaza was just thrown out

 Image source@Visual China

According to the statistics of titanium media, with the change of equity of Haikou Wanda Plaza and Hohhot Wanda Plaza in February, Wanda Group has sold a total of 12 Wanda Plazas since 2023, breaking the record of "10".

On February 27, Tianyancha information showed that Wanda Group transferred the equity of Haikou Wanda Plaza. Haikou Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and the original wholly-owned shareholder Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. has withdrawn, and Dongtai Xingye Technology Co., Ltd. has been added as a shareholder. At the same time, the company's high-level personnel have also changed, Zhang Jing stepped down as the company's legal representative, executive director and general manager, and was replaced by Zhu Caixia.

On February 5, Tianyancha App data showed that Hohhot Wanda Plaza Investment Co., Ltd. underwent industrial and commercial changes, the original wholly-owned shareholder Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. withdrew, and Ordos Oriental Road and Bridge Group Co., Ltd. was added as a shareholder, and the company's registered capital increased from 50.75 million yuan to about 400 million yuan, an increase of about 689.66%, and at the same time, Zhang Jing stepped down as the company's legal representative, executive director and manager, and was replaced by Hasbatu.

On January 19, according to Tianyancha, Xiamen Dianqian Wanda Plaza Commercial Management Co., Ltd. changed its equity on January 16, and the company's shareholders were changed from Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. to Xiamen Jinshengyang Real Estate Co., Ltd. Let # Wang Jianlin has sold 10 Wanda Plaza# to the top of the hot search list, causing heated discussions among netizens.

On January 8, Foshan Shunde Wanda Plaza Commercial Management Co., Ltd. underwent a change of equity, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., Ltd. withdrew from the company's shareholders, and Foshan Yueshang Maojing Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. held 100% of the shares. After equity penetration, the ultimate actual controller of Foshan Yueshang Maojing Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Midea Real Estate. However, Midea Real Estate responded that the assets of Foshan Shunde Wanda Plaza have always been held by Midea Company, and it had previously entrusted Wanda Commercial Management to carry out light asset management and use the Wanda brand, and Wanda did not hold the assets of Foshan Shunde Wanda Plaza. This transaction does not involve the transfer of the square's assets, but only the transaction of the equity of the plaza's commercial management company, and the subsequent commercial operation of Foshan Shunde Wanda Plaza will be responsible for Midea Real Estate.

From December 25 to 30, 2023, Suzhou Taicang Wanda Plaza, Huzhou Wanda Plaza, Guangzhou Luogang Wanda Plaza and Shanghai Jinshan Wanda Plaza were intensively transferred, and the receiver was a subsidiary of China United Fund.

In October 2023, Wanda sold Shanghai Zhoupu Wanda Plaza to Everybody Insurance, and Guangxi Beihai Hepu Wanda Plaza to Hepu Wanghe Real Estate Company.

At the end of May 2023, Wanda sold insurance to three shopping malls in Shanghai, including Songjiang Wanda Plaza in Shanghai, Haihu Wanda Plaza in Xining and Wanda Wanda in Taishan, Jiangmen.

It is understood that "although these projects have been sold, they will still be managed and serviced by Wanda in the future, and the Wanda brand will be retained, and Wanda will enjoy long-term operation and management rights for these projects." "This is also the normal progress of Wanda's asset-light management strategy in recent years, Wanda has been carrying out asset-light transformation before, and will gradually adjust the asset-heavy part in the future. In addition, it is a self-help measure to deal with the liquidity crisis. There are also assets such as Wanda Films and Wanda Hotels that have been sold in exchange for liquidity and settle immediate debts. Most of the funds withdrawn after the sale of assets are still used to repay debts.

According to data released by Wanda Commercial Management, as of November 23, 2023, more than 18 billion yuan of public debt has been repaid in 2023, and the current balance of domestic bonds has been reduced to about 6.9 billion yuan, of which 4.8 billion yuan needs to be repaid next year. In terms of offshore debt, Wanda Commercial Management will repay the US$600 million debt that has been extended in four tranches next year, with a US$400 million bond due in 2025 and 2026 respectively.

As we all know, as early as 2015, Wanda began to launch the asset-light strategy of "abandoning the heavy and turning it into light". In 2017, Mr. Wang sold 77 hotels and 13 cultural tourism projects, as well as a number of overseas real estate projects, in a move that was considered a "sign of transformation" at the time. Since then, the asset-light strategy has continued to advance, with "Wanda Commercial Real Estate" renamed "Wanda Commercial Management" in 2018, divesting the real estate business in 2019, and fully implementing the "asset-light strategy" in 2021.

So, does the sale of more than 10 Wanda Plazas this time also mean that Wanda will transform again?

First of all, from a funding point of view, selling existing assets is indeed a way to quickly recoup funds. By selling some of its assets, Wanda can reduce its own operational risks, focus more on the development of its core business, improve its overall operational efficiency, and resolve its own phased liquidity pressure.

Secondly, from a strategic point of view, Wang Jianlin's "slimming" this time also shows his judgment on the future commercial market. In the current market environment, the competition for commercial real estate is becoming more fierce and the needs of consumers are constantly changing. With the spread of the Internet and the change of consumption habits, online shopping has unconsciously penetrated into people's lives, and the traditional commercial real estate model has faced huge challenges. By selling part of Wanda Plaza, Wanda can more flexibly adjust its strategic layout and adapt to changes in the market.

At a time when the real estate industry continues to run at a low level, it is not uncommon for the industry to sell assets. Real estate companies such as China Evergrande, Sunac China, Shimao Group, China Aoyuan, Agile, and Fantasia are all selling assets in packages, including residential projects, land, equity, property, and diversified industries under development. When most enterprises are uninterested, Wanda Plaza can continue to successfully transfer, to a certain extent, it is enough to show that these transferred Wanda Plaza assets are of higher quality compared to many shelves.

Now 70-year-old Wang Jianlin's tired and haggard state is fully revealed, and the brilliant achievements of Wanda, which he once led, in the commercial field will also become a thing of the past, which makes people sigh. In 2013, Wang Jianlin became the richest man in China, listed in Hong Kong in 2014, and surpassed Li Ka-shing in 2015 to become the richest Chinese in the world. The once brilliant Wang Jianlin and Wanda Group are now in decline. However, according to the latest statistics, Wanda Commercial Management still ranks first in the market in terms of scale and revenue. This figure represents Wanda's strength in the commercial real estate sector, but whether it can bring a turnaround for Wanda does not seem optimistic. After all, that era is gone, after all, the former richest man is no longer young. (This article was first published on Titanium Media APP, author|Zhao Chenhan, editor|Liu Yangxue)