Was Wang Jianlin just given a false alarm after the "height restriction" was lifted?

Author | Wang Hanyu

Editor | Zhang Fan

One day after the news broke that he was restricted from high - end consumption by the court, Wang Jianlin regained his “consumption freedom”.

On September 29, commercial query platforms such as the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network and Aiqicha App no longer showed that Wang Jianlin was at risk of being “restricted from high - end consumption”.

Just one day before, Wang Jianlin had made it onto the hot search due to the issuance of a high - end consumption restriction order against him.

Public information shows that on July 16, Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Wanda Group”) was included in the list of persons subject to enforcement by the Intermediate People's Court of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. Subsequently, the relevant enforcement target was unsold at auction, and Wang Jianlin, as the legal representative of Wanda Group, was restricted from high - end consumption.

Looking further back, in this case, Wanda Group, Wanda Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., Wuhan Chuhe Hanjie Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd., and Wuhan Wanda Cultural Tourism Real Estate Co., Ltd. were jointly listed as persons subject to enforcement, with an enforcement target of approximately 186 million yuan.

After the news of the “high - end consumption restriction order” broke, an insider from Wanda Group replied to the outside world that this was due to an economic dispute involving a subsidiary project company of Wanda. In fact, the two parties had been negotiating a solution through various means. “We are also in the process of understanding the specific situation. This (restriction) may be due to information asymmetry at the enforcement level.”

One day later, Wang Jianlin's “high - end consumption restriction order” was lifted. Although he was able to regain the freedom to take airplanes, high - speed trains and other means of transportation and stay in star - rated hotels, the debt repayment pressure hanging over Wanda Group remained unabated. According to Aiqicha App, currently, there is still approximately 5.263 billion yuan worth of enforcement targets pending for Wanda Group.

Information on Wanda Group's status as a person subject to enforcement. Source: Aiqicha App

Core assets of two listed companies change hands

In the past two years, in order to cope with the debt pressure, the core assets of the only two remaining listed companies under the Wanda system have been sold one after another.

On April 17 this year, Tongcheng Travel announced that it would acquire 100% of the equity of Wanda Hotel Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Wanda Hotel Management”) held by Wanda Hotel Development for approximately 2.49 billion yuan.

After the completion of the transaction, Wanda Hotel Management will become a subsidiary indirectly controlled by Tongcheng, and its financial performance will be directly incorporated into Tongcheng Travel's financial statements. According to the performance in 2024, the revenue of Wanda Hotel Management accounted for approximately 90% of Wanda Hotel Development's total revenue that year.

Even earlier, between 2023 and 2024, another listed company under the Wanda system, Wanda Film, also changed hands after several rounds of equity transfers. Currently, China Ruyi has indirectly become the actual controller of Wanda Film by acquiring 100% of the equity of Wanda Investment.

In July this year, China Ruyi once again acquired 30% of the equity of Wanda's Fast Money Finance for 240 million yuan.

Meanwhile, Wanda Plazas, regarded by Wang Jianlin as core assets, have also been put up for sale several times. According to media statistics, between 2023 and 2024, Wanda sold more than 30 Wanda Plazas. In the first five months of this year, another 7 Wanda Plazas were sold.

On May 21 this year, there was a peak in this long - lasting capital repatriation process. The State Administration for Market Regulation approved the acquisition case of 48 target companies under Dalian Wanda Commercial Management by a consortium composed of PAG, Gaohe Fengde, Tencent, JD Panda, Sunshine Life Insurance and other institutions, involving 48 Wanda Plazas in 39 cities across the country.

So far, the outside world has learned from the disclosure of the regulatory authorities that Wang Jianlin plans to sell 48 Wanda Plazas in one go.

Together with these 48, the hundreds of Wanda Plazas across the country are currently the most valuable assets in Wang Jianlin's hands.

Loss of absolute control, but debt pressure remains

However, in fact, since the introduction of “new Middle Eastern strategic investors” last year, Wang Jianlin has lost absolute control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, a platform that manages hundreds of Wanda Plazas across the country.

On March 30, 2024, in order to resolve the listing gambling crisis, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management signed investment agreements with PAG, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company, CITIC Capital, ARES and other institutions. These five institutions jointly invested approximately 60 billion yuan in Dalian Xindameng Commercial Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dalian Xindameng”). The latter is a new platform established by Wanda to introduce strategic investors and is the parent company of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.

According to the agreement, the new investment no longer sets up a gambling agreement regarding the listing of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management. At the same time, the five investors including PAG hold a total of 60% of the equity in Dalian Xindameng, the parent company of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management, while Dalian Wanda Commercial Management holds 40%.

This means that Wang Jianlin has since lost absolute control of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management.

However, this does not seem to have effectively alleviated Wanda's debt pressure.

By September of that year, a series of changes occurred in the industrial and commercial information of Dalian Xindameng. The company's registered capital increased from 1.621 billion yuan to 4.0517 billion yuan, indicating that the funds from the new strategic investors had been gradually put in place.

As of the end of September, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management had 1.5116 billion yuan in monetary funds, 389 million yuan in short - term borrowings, 4.008 billion yuan in non - current liabilities due within one year, and a total of 11.265 billion yuan in long - term borrowings and bonds payable.

In 2025, the pace of Wanda's asset sales has further accelerated, which just shows that the entry of 60 billion yuan in new strategic investors is still difficult to solve Wanda's debt pressure.

*Disclaimer:

The content of this article only represents the author's views.

The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution. Under no circumstances do the information in this article or the opinions expressed constitute investment advice to anyone. Before making an investment decision, if necessary, investors must consult professionals and make decisions carefully. We have no intention of providing underwriting services or any services that require specific qualifications or licenses for the parties involved in the transaction.

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