SHANGHAI: China’s Dalian Wanda Group said on Thursday that first-half revenue surged 12%, with revenue from its financial businesses showing particularly strong growth.
Wanda has been investing heavily in entertainment, leisure and financial businesses and the buying spree has drawn attention of Chinese regulators, who ordered lenders last month to assess exposure to overseas deals by Wanda, HNA Group, Anbang Insurance and Fosun.
The property developer, which has businesses stretching from theme parks and shopping malls to sports clubs and cinema chains, said in a statement its January-June revenue reached 134.85 billion yuan (US$19.8 billion), exceeding its own targets.
It was not immediately clear if Wanda was referring to contract or operating revenue.
The company, owned by Wang Jianlin who is one of China’s richest men, said at the beginning of the year it would report only operating revenue rather than contract revenue as it had done in the past. Its operating revenue was up 3.4% in 2016.
The company does not provide profit figures.
In the first half of this year, revenue from Wanda Commercial Properties climbed 14.2% to 73.5 billion yuan, while its cultural industry unit that includes entertainment companies saw sales rise 5.9% to 30.8 billion yuan.
Its financial group’s revenue rose 46.8% to 20.6 billion yuan.
Dalian Wanda has purchased a slew of cinema assets globally, acquiring AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc in the United States and taking a controlling stake in US film studio Legendary Entertainment last year. - Reuters
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