Wanda Group commits Rmb130 billion to build 39 projects in Shandong

Wanda Group and Shandong Province entered into a strategic partnership agreement on December 14 whereby Wanda will increase its investment in the province by Rmb130 billion to build 38 new Wanda Plazas and one culture & tourism project.

Together with projects previously invested, Wanda's aggregate investment in Shandong will amount to Rmb230 billion, making it the province in which Wanda has the largest investment commitment in China.

According to the partnership agreement, Wanda will build one new culture & tourism project in Jinan, and 38 Wanda Plazas in 17 cities across the province. This will result in full coverage of Wanda Plazas across Shandong. In particular, Wanda Plazas will make their debuts in seven cities, namely Zibo, Linyi, Heze, Rizhao, Liaocheng, Weihai and Laiwu.

Wanda began investing in Shandong in 2001, and has, over the last 15 years, invested a total of Rmb100 billion in 14 Wanda Plazas and nine five-star hotels (including those under construction) in various cities such as Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai and Tai'an. Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, with a total investment of Rmb50 billion, is the world's sole ultra-large film and television industry park comprising filming, production, exhibition and tourism. It will become the world's new film hub when it commences operation in 2017.

In early 2015, Wanda Plaza began to implement an asset-light strategy to accelerate the pace of development of Wanda Plazas, with full coverage across all cities in China, including tiers 3 and 4 cities. In the past year, Wanda has entered into strategic partnership agreements with Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Liaoning, Chongqing, Henan and Yunnan, among other provinces and cities. From 2016, more than 50 asset-light Wanda Plazas will open for business each year.