In the cold real estate market in China, Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin is selling Hangzhou’s first Wanda Plaza for 1.48 billion, with a negotiable price tag.
According to the official WeChat account of Hangzhou Dayunhe New City, Hangzhou Gongshu Wanda Plaza, the first Wanda Plaza in Hangzhou, is up for sale for 1.48 billion yuan, with an annual rent of about 109 million yuan, and the price is still open for negotiation.
As reported by “Jiemian News,” a commercial real estate professional stated that the pricing for Gongshu Wanda Plaza is indeed a discounted offer. Some intermediaries have indicated that all Wanda Plazas across the country are open for negotiation due to Wanda’s transition to a lighter asset model.
This is the first Wanda Plaza in Hangzhou, with a commercial building area of 146,000 square meters, consisting of 5 floors above ground and 2 floors below ground, encompassing dining, fashion, jewelry, digital, and entertainment entities. Wanda later opened other Wanda Plazas in Hangzhou, such as Yuhang Wanda Plaza, Fuyang Wanda Plaza, and Cangqian Wanda Plaza, but Gongshu Wanda Plaza stands out as the best one.
According to Dalian Wanda Commercial Management’s official website, Hangzhou Gongshu Wanda Plaza is located in Gongshu District of Hangzhou, with a total construction area of 360,000 square meters, of which 190,000 square meters are for commercial use, making it one of the representative Wanda Plazas nationwide.
Notably, Wanda Plaza was once considered “core” by Wang Jianlin. Wang Jianlin explicitly stated that Wanda Commercial is the core enterprise of Wanda, “other companies can be let go, but not this one; everything can be sacrificed, but not this.”
Earlier this year, Wang Jianlin mentioned during Wanda’s annual work conference that one of the tasks for 2024 is to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
According to a report in the “Securities Times,” in 2017, Wanda Group proposed a strategy to transition from a heavy asset model to a light asset model, but the main reason for selling assets is still financial issues.
According to Wanda Commercial Management’s financial report for the first quarter of 2024, the company’s cash funds are 12.481 billion yuan, short-term borrowings amount to 2.784 billion yuan, and long-term borrowings reach 94.357 billion yuan. As of the end of the first quarter, Wanda Commercial Management has a total of 9 outstanding bonds with a balance size of 5.392 billion yuan, of which 1.367 billion yuan will mature within a year; among the overseas bonds, 820 million USD-denominated bonds will mature within a year.
The report speculates that based on current trends, Wanda may continue to sell more Wanda Plazas in the near future.
According to incomplete statistics, since 2023, Wanda Commercial Management has transferred the controlling rights of at least 26 companies, involving multiple Wanda Plazas located in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Tianjin, Hefei, Huzhou, Taicang, Haikou, Xining, Yichun, and other areas. Many of these projects are in prime locations in first-tier cities and are high-quality assets.