HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese property developers Dalian Wanda Group and Vanke have reached a settlement over a dispute related to a mega-project in the northern part of the country, a Wanda company official said on Friday.
The official confirmed a China Securities Journal report, which also said court orders to freeze Wanda’s 1.9 billion yuan ($265.52 million) worth of shares in its property manager unit would be withdrawn when Vanke, which had applied for the freeze, asks for it to be removed.
The Wanda official declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Vanke declined to comment on the report.
Dalian Wanda, China’s largest commercial property developer, said last month it was appealing a court decision to freeze shares it owned in subsidiary Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group.
It added it had a dispute involving about 1 billion yuan with a company related to a mega-project in the northern city of Changchun, without giving the name of the company.
The project involved is the Changchun International Movie Metropolis, China Securities Journal said, adding that Wanda and Vanke were partners in the project and the two had disagreements over how much Wanda should return to a Vanke unit after the latter decided to exit the project in 2021.
Dalian Wanda has suffered from a string of negative news in recent months, including a delayed listing plan in Hong Kong for a unit, rating downgrades, and missing a $22 million dollar bond coupon payment last week.
It is also facing other litigation and asset freeze orders from courts in China due to payment disputes.
($1 = 7.1558 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
