This article is excerpted from Yuan Shuo Rui Ping

In February 2026, a relatively unnoticed financial news spread within the industry: Wanda Commercial Management issued a $360 million high-yield bond with an annual interest rate of 12.75%. Converted, that's about 2.5 billion RMB, with annual interest payments of 320 million RMB.
Over the past three years, Wanda has sold more than 80 Wanda Plazas. In May 2025, 48 of them were sold in a package to a consortium led by Tai Meng, including Tencent, JD.com, and Sunshine Life, for approximately 50 billion RMB. The hotel management company was sold to Tongcheng Travel for 2.5B RMB, and a 30% stake in Kuaiqian Financial was transferred to China Ruyi for 240 million RMB. By 2026, Shanghai Zhuanqiao Wanda Plaza was sold for 2.05B RMB, China State Construction Engineering Corporation’s First Bureau acquired two plazas in Changde and Suining, and China State Construction’s Second Bureau took over Wanda Plaza in Xinbei, Changzhou.
Despite selling so many "assets," Wanda Group’s total liabilities on the books still amount to about 600 billion RMB, with a short-term debt repayment gap of approximately 28.4 to 52.9 billion RMB. The cash on hand is only between 13.3 billion and 15.1 billion RMB, barely enough to cover the smallest gap.
From 2013 to 2016, these were the most glorious four years for Wang Jianlin. In 2013, he topped the Hurun China Rich List with a net worth of 1.35 trillion RMB, and in 2015, he surpassed Li Ka-shing to become the richest Chinese. His portfolio included over 200 Wanda Plazas across the country, along with Wanda Hotels, Wanda Film, and Wanda Sports, forming a super map covering commercial real estate and cultural entertainment.
In December 2014, Wanda was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The stock price once surged to 76 HKD but later fell below the issue price. Wang Jianlin felt that the Hong Kong stock market