Wang Jianlin has resumed his role as the chairman of Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group after a 14-year hiatus. This significant leadership change comes at a time when the company faces serious financial challenges, with its cash reserves reported to be only 4.6 billion yuan, while short-term debts have soared to 33 billion yuan, exceeding cash by more than sevenfold. Industry analysts anticipate that Wanda will continue to sell off assets to navigate through these turbulent times.
On November 9, it was officially recorded that Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group underwent a change in its corporate structure. Chen Hongtao stepped down as chairman, making way for Wang Jianlin to take over the position once again, marking his return to the role after a long absence of 14 years.
In its heyday, Wanda aggressively expanded overseas during the real estate boom in China, acquiring notable companies such as American AMC Theatres and Legendary Entertainment. However, in 2017, reports from the Wall Street Journal indicated that Chinese leader Xi Jinping approved measures to restrict state-owned banks from providing new loans to Wanda, aimed at curtailing its overseas expansion activities. The Chinese authorities grew concerned that some enterprises were overpaying for acquisitions abroad, increasing their debt risks. Following this, Wanda started to sell off assets to pay back bank loans.
Notably, in a speech at Harvard in 2015, Wang Jianlin acknowledged for the first time that Xi Jinping’s sister Qi Qiaoqiao and brother-in-law Deng Jiagu invested in Wanda, claiming that they sold their shares at a low price before the company went public, thus denying any conflict of interest. However, a reporter from the New York Times noted in an interview with Voice of America that the equity might have merely been transferred to others’ names. Wang’s statement may have contained a significant error, allowing the public to observe how powerful individuals use nominal transfers of shares to conceal their actual interests behind the scenes.
The company, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, failed to complete its listing by the end of 2023, triggering a share repurchase obligation that was part of the investment agreement from 2021. A Reuters report from December 2023 indicated that Wanda was originally facing a repurchase obligation of approximately $4.18 billion (around 30 billion yuan) plus interest.
In March 2024, a consortium led by Hong Kong private equity firm PAG invested about $8.3 billion (approximately 60 billion yuan) to acquire a 60% stake in Xin Dal Meng. This company acts as the holding platform for Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, leaving Dalian Wanda with only a 40% stake and losing its controlling interest in this critical commercial management platform.
Historically, Wanda used a high-debt model to fuel its expansion. In the aftermath of the downturn in China’s real estate market, valuations of commercial properties have come under pressure, funding channels have tightened, and its cash reserves are not sufficient to cover short-term debts.
According to Fitch Ratings, as of June 30, 2026, Wanda Group had approximately 4.6 billion yuan in unrestricted cash, while its short-term debts reached 33 billion yuan, which is more than seven times its cash reserves. Fitch emphasized that the company would still need to rely on asset sales and dividends from joint ventures to support debt repayment.
Daily Economic News reported that PAG, along with Gaohua Capital, Tencent, Panda Commercial, and Sunshine Life Insurance, received approval in 2025 to purchase 48 Wanda Plaza properties, with a total transaction price of around 50 billion yuan. Since 2023, Wanda has sold over 80 Wanda Plaza locations; however, only 9 properties were successfully transferred during the deal involving the aforementioned 48 locations.
In terms of financing costs, Wanda Group issued a senior secured U.S. dollar bond in January 2026 with a coupon rate of 12.75%. Another dollar bond that was originally set to mature in February 2026 has been extended to February 2028, maintaining an interest rate of 11%.
On November 4, Fitch confirmed that Dalian Wanda Commercial Management and Wanda Hong Kong’s long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings were rated as CC. Meanwhile, due to the new debt issuance from Wanda Group in the first half of 2026 and a reduction in short-term refinancing risks, Fitch has upgraded its own credit rating from CC to CCC-. However, Fitch projects that Wanda Commercial Management will continue selling shopping centers from 2026 to 2028, with the total number of malls likely decreasing from about 270 in 2025 to approximately 200 in the medium to long term.