China's Richest Man 王健林 Investing in London in Big Way

Who is China's richest man?  Any clue?  A quick search reveals that this person is considered China's richest man. His name is 王健林 or Wang Jianlin.

Wang Jianlin 王健林

Brief Background
He is recognized as a self-made billionaire. Born in 1954, he served in the People's Liberation Army from 1970 to 1986, before graduating with a degree from Liaoning University.  He rose up the ranks of Chinese state-controlled companies, before becoming CEO of the Dalian Wanda 大连万达 group in 1993.    He also has many political connections and is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

His company owns Wang Jianlin, owns 75 department stores, 85 shopping plazas and 51 five star hotels. He also bought the US movie chain A.M.C in 2012, for US$2.6bn.  He then announced a US$500mil plan to refurbish all the theatres.

Now let's listen to Wang Jianlin, 王健林.

Wang Jianlin at Harvard - 大胆一点!


Short clip with Wang speaking in mandarin.  Worth a listen to.  He talks about taking risks.  There is no such thing as a sure-win.  You must take risks.  If you fail, try again.  But don't go in too big first, go into something smaller.  He gives the students one idea, he says the most important idea - be bolder! 大胆一点!

Listen at 1:25 mark where Wang talks about Entrepreneurial Spirit.
Two things are most important.
First - Creativity & Dare to do Big Things.
Second - Perseverance

Wang Jianlin at Tsinghua University - 清华大学演讲


Wang Jianlin talks about his company.  He speaks of China's economic growth, on average 9.5% in the past 20 years. His company rode on this wave.  Without China's growth strategy, it would have been impossible to grow so fast.

But why did Wanda grow so fast? Wanda's relentless creativity - 不但创新!

He has a saying - "什么北大清华大,不如胆子大!"  To accomplish anything, other than your intellect, environment, you need to dare to try and take risks.  He differentiates between taking foolish and unplanned risks, versus taking calculated and planned risks.

Dalian Wanda did 6 things right.  Listen to his speech to find out more.  His company's expansion in Chinese Real Estate has been phenomenal.  He now has global ambitions - 走遍天下都有 万达 .  This bold statement is consistent with Wanda's international expansion.

The company started off as a residential developer and was very successful.  However, in the year 2000, the company has a big strategic meeting and re-focussed itself on commercial/retail/hotel space.

What Has Wang Jianlin Got To Do With London Property? 
Dalian Wanda has gone into London in a big way, and their initial investments is just starting.  They bought the entire One Nine Elms Project from Green Property.

One Nine Elms is a mixed-use development which will comprise 1.13 million ft² (approx. 105,000 m²) of prime residential, office and retail space within two towers of 45 and 60 stories connected by a high level link bridge. Reaching 205 metres, taller than the London Eye, The Gherkin and The BT Tower, One Nine Elms will take its place in the London iconic skyline upon completion, which is expected to be in 2016/2017. With commanding views over London, Nine Elms and the new US Embassy site, the residential element of the scheme will include 436 private homes above an office and premium hotel.

On completion, the value of the development is expected to be in excess of £700 million (approx. €817 million). The scheme will be used by Wanda for a five-star hotel, marking the first move overseas by Wanda’s luxury hotel brand as well as the first luxury hotel opened by a Chinese firm outside China.

So, Wang Jianlin is going into Central London, not by buying over existing built properties in PCL, but rather purchasing plans that have already been approved, and developing them.  This is part of his international expansion.

Like Wang, HK's Li Ka Shing has also gone into UK in a big way, largely through Utilities.  See this blog post for more information.

On the other hand, Grosvenor Estates (owned by Duke of Westminster) are selling off their Central London properties and moving into Zone 2.

 Happy Investing!