Wanda group has confirmed it will sell its share of Australian assets including Gold Coast Jewel

AFTER months of speculation, Chinese property powerhouse Wanda has revealed its plans for the future of the Gold Coast’s Jewel development.

CHINESE property and development powerhouse Wanda Group has confirmed it will sell its Australian assets, including its 60 per cent share of the Gold Coast’s $900 million Jewel project.

In an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late yesterday Australian time, the Wanda Hotel Development Company said it had entered an agreement on January 18 to sell its shares to “an independent third party”.

Wanda Ridong Group Jewel Hotel development.

“An announcement relating to the Disposal to be made by the Company in compliance with the Listing Rules is being prepared and will be published by the Company as soon as practicable,” the statement to shareholders said.

“Trading in the shares of the Company on the Stock Exchange remains halted pending the publication of the announcement relating to the Disposal.”

Trading of the company’s Hong Kong arm was halted on Friday pending a “very substantial sale”, and it announced the sale of its interest in London’s One Nine Elms project on January 16.

The Gold Coast Bulletin has contacted Jewel’s joint venture partners, Ridong Australia, for a response to the impending sale.

DEVELOPERS SAY JEWEL `NOT FOR SALE’

WANDA SHUFFLES JEWEL OWNERSHIP

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GOLD COAST BULLETIN

Jewel project by Wanda Ridong, Gold Coast.

The announcements come as the group reported a staggering 10.8 per cent decline in revenue, the second decline in two years, as it retreated from its ambitious expansion into entertainment and overseas property.

In recent months, three major credit-ratings firms have downgraded the commercial-property unit to junk status, which could lead to higher interest payments on the debt it already has. Tighter capital controls are also making it tougher for Wanda to transfer money overseas to repay offshore lenders.

The commercial-property unit owed about $41 billion in debt in 2016, according to its most recent regulatory filings.

MORE TO COME

Jewel project by Wanda Ridong, Gold Coast.