Wanda, headed by one of China’s richest men, Wang Jianlin, had been one of the most acquisitive companies in a flood of Chinese money overseas that raised official concerns over “irrational” investments. In a brief joint statement, the two companies said Sunac would buy 76 hotels outright, without specifying which properties. Wanda Commercial plans to pay back the majority of bank loans within this year,” he was quoted saying. Wanda admitted two weeks ago that China’s banking regulator had ordered an inspection of potentially risky loans to major Chinese companies that have invested aggressively overseas. “Selling assets, which is the last resort for big firms like Wanda, means that Wanda is running out of options to raise fund through normal financing channels,” said Ivan Han, Shanghai-based senior analyst with financial information provider Morning Whistle.

Source: The Standard July 10, 2017 11:15 UTC