Wanda Group Raises $805 Million in Just Three Days

By Natalie Polk

Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property developer, raised $805 million to finance the construction of shopping malls across China in only three days—leveraged almost entirely through Internet crowdfunding. Wanda used Internet financing app  Stable Earner No.1 to allow investors to make quick transactions with online payment-service 99 Bill.

Wanda used an “asset-light” strategy (an approach specified by Wanda chair Wang Jianlin), seeking outside investments to finance construction with intentions to sell after several years.

Individual and institutional investors who contributed to the fund received incentives such as the right to share shopping mall profits after making a minimum initial investment of $160 (RMB 1,000). Institutional investor contributions accounted for approximately $730 million (RMB 4.5 billion) of the $805 million total.