Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing has been overtaken as Asia’s richest man by another billionaire with retail interests.
Wang Jianlin, (pictured above) Dalian-based founder of Wanda Group, now reportedly tops the list with an estimated worth of US$38.1 billion.
It should be noted that Wang’s ascension has been announced by Wanda, rather than independent rich list architects Forbes or Bloomberg.
Wanda Group, using data from the Bloomberg Chinese Rich List and Forbes Asia Rich List as of May 1, 2015, has adjusted the figures to reflect improvements in the trading price of Wanda’s A and H shares.
Jianlin’s company owns an estimated 9 million sqm of investment property, including 58 Wanda Shopping Plazas, 68 cinemas, 57 department stores and 54 karaoke centres across China. It is also the world’s largest cinema owner, after acquiring control of US-based AMC Cinemas in 2012.
Li Ka-shing is founder of Hutchison Whampoa whose subsidiaries include AS Watson Group, with more than 7800 stores, including Superdrug in the UK, Marionnaud in France, Kruidvat in the Benelux region, Park’n’Shop supermarkets in Asia and Fortress electronics stores. Not to mention the 3 mobile phone networks.
In a statement, Wanda says earlier rich lists showed Wang Jianlin had a fortune of only US$24.2 billion, showing the sharp increase in the market cap of Wang’s three listed companies during this period has become a key driver of his soaring wealth.
“On May 4, shares in Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, a Hong Kong-listed company of Wanda Group, soared to HK$68/share after opening, pushing its market cap to above HK$300 billion for the first time. Given that Wang and his family hold 2.43 billion shares of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties through Wanda Group, the market value of the shares of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties held by him and his family alone already exceeds US$20 billion.”
Besides Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, Wang Jianlin also holds a 60.71 pwr cent stake in A-share listed Wanda Cinema Line through Wanda Investment Co, which had a market value of around RMB 57.2 billion based on the market cap of Wanda Cinema Line on May 4.
In addition to the above two listed companies, Wang Jianlin also holds a 78 per cent stake in AMC, with a market value of about RMB 14.5 billion, taking the value of Wang Jianlin’s stakes in the three listed companies to nearly RMB 200 billion or US$32 billion.
“With its massive commercial properties in the mainland, we believe Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties will benefit from the central government’s policy to boost domestic consumption. Given Wanda’s powerful brand influence in China, its retail property will be favored by domestic and overseas retailers. We believe as its commercial properties mature, there is still room for Wanda to raise rents.”
* Photograph: World Economic Forum.