Wanda Commercial moving to Hengqin

China’s largest commercial property developer, Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group (Wanda Commercial), is set to move its office to the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. Employees will relocate from Beijing to the Hengqin office by mid-July.

Wanda Commercial, a key subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group, operates a vast portfolio of 125 Wanda Plazas, 81 hotels (68 five-star), 6,600 cinema screens, and 99 department stores nationwide. The company aims to become a leading multinational with 1 trillion yuan in assets, 600 billion yuan in annual revenue, and 60 billion yuan in net income by 2020.

While previous reports indicated Wanda Group’s Beijing headquarters would move to Zhuhai, the relocation currently only involves the commercial property management division. A Wanda employee said to Chinese digital news outlet, The Paper, “As far as I know, the office in Zhuhai is located in the ICC Hengqin International Business Center.” The decision to move to the Hengqin International Business Centre is motivated by a desire to reduce operational costs.

Earlier in April, Wanda sold its Beijing headquarters to alleviate liquidity pressure. Since 2023, the company has sold 14 malls, its Sunseeker yacht business, and flagship Beijing Wanda Plaza. Fitch Ratings recently reaffirmed Wanda Commercial’s ‘cc’ Issuer Default Rating, constrained by tight liquidity. However, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial’s new financing plan and asset disposals are expected to help address short-term maturities, though execution risks remain. NS