Wanda Group exited HKEX in 2016 in the hopes of listing in mainland China. Now Wanda looks to be listed once again in Hong Kong as the company slowly curbs its global ambitions.
Dalian Wanda Group filed papers for IPO last Thursday, bringing Wanda's commercial property business back to the Hong Kong stock market after its exit in 2016. Wanda Group would be giving up its five-year quest of listing in mainland Chinese exchange since its HKEX exit. The IPO includes PAG, Country Garden, Tencent, Ant, and CITIC Capital as its anchor investors.
Wanda Commercial, now dubbed Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, operates 380 malls in China. 280 malls are owned by the parent company while the rest are owned by third parties. The company also has 162 projects in the pipeline.
Wanda Commercial recorded a net profit of CNY 1.1 billion in 2020, a y-o-y decrease of 8.8%; however, its revenue increased by 28.4% in the same period. By the interim of 2021, Wanda reported a net profit of CNY 655.5 million, a y-o-y decrease of 19.8% while the revenue went up by 27.1% to CNY 6.1 billion in the same period.
A Wanda official said "Since we commenced managing Wanda Plazas in 2002, we have accumulated extensive operational experience and unique industry insights, established mature operation and tenant sourcing systems, and equipped ourselves with strong technology and data analysis capabilities." The company has been ceding its overseas influence as regulations crackdown on outflow of capital. Wanda Group disclosed in March that it had gave up majority control of AMC Theatres, which the company purchased in 2012 for USD 2.6 billion.