Hobbled by Covid-19, China’s Wanda faces US$5.7b debt bill

The empire founded by billionaire Wang Jianlin, who once aspired to beat Walt Disney Co. in entertainment, needs to refinance or pay about 39.8 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) of its bonds this year. That is almost 36% of its total outstanding notes, the highest proportion of total bonds due among the nation’s top 25 firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

HONG KONG: Dalian Wanda Group Co., the Chinese conglomerate that borrowed billions of dollars to fund an acquisition binge, is facing a double whammy this year: a wall of maturing debt and a deadly virus that has hampered its operations.

The empire founded by billionaire Wang Jianlin, who once aspired to beat Walt Disney Co. in entertainment, needs to refinance or pay about 39.8 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) of its bonds this year. That is almost 36% of its total outstanding notes, the highest proportion of total bonds due among the nation’s top 25 firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.