China's real estate giants announce strategic tie up

Photo taken on Sept 28, 2013 shows the night view of the Wanda Plaza in Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo/IC]

Dalian Wanda Group Co, China's biggest commercial property group, and China Vanke Co, the country's biggest listed property developer by sales, announced strategic partnership on Thursday in Beijing.

The two Chinese major real estate developers will set up a co-funded company and join hands in acquisition of land and joint project development, said Wang Jianlin, chairman and president of Wanda Group.

The cooperation will not involve reshuffle of the two companies and more details will be revealed soon, Wang added.

China Vanke will retain its commercial property business after the tie-up with Wanda Group, but will focus on community commercial property development, said Yu Liang, the company's CEO.

The alliance between two prominent real estate players spearheads a new direction for the domestic property industry, with a positive and far-reaching influence on its future development, said a statement from Wanda.

According to the agreement, the partnership will be steered by a joint team consisting of senior executives from both companies. This team will interact closely as long-term partners and liaise on related projects, according to the statement.

Dalian Wanda Group, the Chinese commercial property developer and cinema chain operator, launched two separate IPOs in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, adding much fortune to its founder and president, Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin.

In December, Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, the group's property unit, made IPO debut on the Hong Kong main board.

Then in January, Wang Jianlin listed his cinema business, Wanda Cinema Line Co, China's biggest owner of movie screens, on the Shenzhen Exchange.

The group reported revenue of 242.48 billion yuan ($39.11 billion) in 2014, up 30 percent year on year.

China Vanke Co said its profit rose 4.2 percent last year after the government eased property curbs, boosting demand from first-home buyers. While the company saw its profits drop 57.49 percent in the first quarter as sales of new housing slowed and home prices dropped.