KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Dalian Wanda Group, owned by China's second richest man, Wang Jianlin, was in focus on Thursday as the shares and bonds of its units plunged, according to Bloomberg.

Wanda Group had in May this year been reported to have expressed "desire" to participate in the Bandar Malaysia development.

The Wanda Group chairman had told reporters at the One Belt One Road forum that the investment would be "really huge", estimating it at more than US$10 billion (RM44 billion).

"While we have not reached an agreement yet, I am here expressing my stance," he was quoted as saying at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Sofitel Beijing Hotel owned by Wanda Group.

Meanwhile, The Edge weekly had in its edition for the week of May 22–May 28 reported that Wanda Group was tipped to come into the Bandar Malaysia project, replacing IWH CREC Sdn Bhd. However, that talk subsequently died down, it also said.

Recall that in May this year, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) and its partner, China's state-owned China Railway Engineering Corp Sdn Bhd (CREC), were axed from the RM12.35 billion Bandar Malaysia development project.

IWH CREC's Dec 31, 2015 share sale agreement to buy 60% of Bandar Malaysia for RM7.41 billion lapsed after the joint venture failed to meet conditions set, involving 12 payments, despite having been given 12 extensions.

Today, Bloomberg reported that Wanda Film Holding Co tumbled as much as 10% in Shenzhen, its biggest loss since January 2016, before its shares were suspended from trading. Wanda Properties International Co's 2024 notes plunged as much as 10.7 US cents on the US dollar to 101 US cents in morning trading in Hong Kong, the biggest drop on record, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Bloomberg wrote that the group said in a statement that the rout may have been caused by speculation that banks were issuing notices that they will sell Wanda bonds. The rumour is false, Wanda said.

Both companies are units of Wanda Group, the property-to-entertainment conglomerate that stood out in recent years for making acquisitions in Hollywood such as the purchase of Legendary Entertainment. Wang is China's second-richest man with a fortune of US$31.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. — theedgemarkets.com

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