Is Wang Jianlin trying to tell us how many staff there will be at his Internet division soon?
Mainland authorities got attention this year for pushing back against Christmas celebrations on the mainland, and it looks like Santa may have taken this badly after the stockings full of coal that some of China’s best-known firms received over the past week. The diversification plan of the mainland’s biggest mall developer seems to be proceeding as usual with reports of over 90 percent layoffs in one division, and HNA has borrowed new money for the third time in a month to keep its operations running. Read on for all these stories and more as we welcome the new year.
Wanda Said Cutting Staff at Internet Division From 6000 to 300
Wanda Network Technology Group is struggling to survive after Wang Jianlin set high expectations for it.
WNT started slashing jobs with the aim of reducing its workforce to 300 from 6,000, and the company will only retain functional departments, state-backed online news outlet The Paper quoted a source as saying yesterday. Read more>>
HNA Borrows $500M Against Hilton Stake
Debt-laden Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. used another one of its most valuable assets to borrow more cash for the third time this month, increasing the size of a loan backed by its ownership in the Hilton hotel chain.
HNA, which owns a roughly 25% stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., HLT -0.73% added half a billion dollars of debt to a $3 billion share-backed loan used to purchase the stake last year, according to regulatory filings. The total stake was purchased for $6.5 billion from private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP and the loan was led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Read more>>
Beijing Anti-Migrant Campaign Spreads into Hebei
A controversial Beijing crackdown on unsafe rental homes that has mostly affected out-of-town workers has spread beyond its borders to a neighboring small town home to thousands of low-income migrants working in the capital.
Short video clips released online shows officers from law enforcement departments including local police arrive at Fengjiafu village in the Hebei province town of Yanjiao to seal off farmhouses refurbished into cramped apartment blocks, which were mostly occupied by migrant workers. Read more>>
Hong Kong Home Prices Rise for 20th Straight Month
Hong Kong’s secondary home prices rose for a 20th straight month in November, their longest rally since 1993, as apartments continued to sell for record amounts across the city.
The home price index edged 1.07 per cent higher to 347.0, according to data released by the Rating and Valuation Department on Friday. That compared with a gain of 0.73 per cent in October. Read more>>
Trump Reappears in Beijing as Shopping Mall Dog Statue
A mall in northern China has installed a larger-than-life canine statue with more than a passing resemblance to US President Donald Trump to welcome the coming Year of the Dog.
The giant pooch towers above shoppers in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, sporting a slick golden pompadour, angled brows and a red scarf with one index finger raised in a distinctly Trumpian manner. Read more>>
CK Asset Said Selling Bahamas Resort to Wynn Group for $65M
Taxpayers in the Bahamas may be getting a break if the Wynn Group is able to close on a $65 million, all-cash purchase on the Grand Lucayan Resort.
Fred Smith, attorney and partner at law firm Callenders & Co., told Tribune Business he was “overjoyed” that the government of Grand Bahama would not be on the hook to buy the resort itself, sparing the public treasury from financing the acquisition as well as operating and maintenance costs. However, he also painted the Wynn Group’s deal as a short term “band aid fix” to what Grand Bahama’s larger economic hurdles. Read more>>
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