Wanda ready to reveal big investment, chief says

Dalian-based conglomerate also to site its headquarters for the continent in London

Dalian Wanda Group Co, the Chinese entertainment, property and finance conglomerate, was expected to announce a "major deal" as early as Feb 26 and to make the United Kingdom its headquarters on the continent, Chairman Wang Jianlin has announced.

Speaking at Oxford University on Feb 23, Wang said he was negotiating a major project, which would generate about 10,000 jobs, and the company would make a major announcement on a big project, which would not be in the UK.

Speculation at first centered on a possible purchase of Paramount Pictures. Wang has had an interest in buying Hollywood assets, and Bloomberg reported that Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman said on Feb 23 that it's exploring the sale of a stake in Paramount.

In January, the company announced it would pay $3.5 billion to acquire Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment.

But in a subsequent story, Bloomberg cited two sources familiar with the matter as saying Wanda plans to invest billions of euros in a retail and leisure development outside of Paris.

The project, known as EuropaCity, would be built in Gonesse, a town 16 kilometers northeast of Paris, between Le Bourget and Charles de Gaulle airports, according to a website for the property.

Bloomberg also cited the website as saying construction on EuropaCity is slated to begin in 2019, with the project opening in 2024, including a theme park, shopping center, water and snow parks, sports fields, performance spaces and hotels.

In London, Wanda has invested 1.2 billion pounds ($1.67 billion; 1.52 billion euros) to build a hotel and residences on the south bank of the River Thames.

Wang has also acquired Sunseeker International Ltd, a British luxury yachtmaker, while his company employs 1,200 people across the UK.

"Soon, we will be employing 3,000 people here," Wang said, adding that his plan also includes a large retail project.

Wanda is China's largest property developer, generating about $40 billion in annual revenue globally.

Wang cited the importance of the markets in the United States and the UK: "The US is the biggest market, but the UK is a freer market. Here you have no approvals procedure, but the US has many approval procedures, and they can take back your license at any time over 50 years. The UK has a good legal framework."

Last year, Wanda became the biggest cinema chain operator in the world when it acquired AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, a US-based chain. It also bought Swiss-based Infront Sports and Media AG, a sports marketing company, for $1.2 billion. In January, the company announced it would pay $3.5 billion to acquire Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment.

Wang was recently estimated to be worth $25 billion by Hurun Report, which tracks Chinese wealthy, making him the 26th richest man in the world.

He says he wants the world to understand Chinese management philosophy and culture through his book, The Wanda Way, which was launched in English in London on Feb 22.

"A country is strong when its companies are strong," he told an audience at the British Museum.

The Mandarin version of the book has already been reprinted 15 times and has sold 1 million copies since its release last year.

Rhodium Group research shows that investment from China accounts for nearly 10 percent of global overseas investments. Last year, China made a record investment in Europe of 20 billion euros ($22 billion), up 44 percent year-on-year. In the past five years, total investment in Europe by China has been more than 10 billion euros a year.

Economics experts with London & Partners forecast that there will be record investment from China in the UK this year, increasing by 35 percent.

Contact the writers at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com and wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn