Wanda denies bank bond dumping claim after share plunge

Wanda group has made a statement denying claims that banks had been dumping the Chinese conglomerate's bonds.

Wanda Group [File photo: cs.com.cn]

It follows a dramatic tumble in Wanda bonds and shares on the markets on Thursday morning, after rumors surfaced that banks such as China Construction Bank (CCB) had told their traders to sell off Wanda bonds.

Wanda Properties International's 2024 notes endured its biggest drop on record, plunging as much as 10.7 cents on the dollar to 101 cents in morning trading in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg.

On the stock market, Wanda Film dropped nearly 10 percent in the morning, with its market value shrinking by over 6.6 billion yuan (around 966 million US dollars), leading to the suspension of share trading at Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 1pm.

Wanda Group issued a statement, saying the online rumors were not true, stating that banks such as CCB had never issued notices to dump Wanda bonds.

The statement added that the group was operating satisfactorily.

Securities Times is quoting two employees from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which was also involved in the rumors, as saying there was no order to sell off Wanda bonds. There has been no official response from ICBC as yet.

In a statement issued by Wanda Film on Thursday evening, the company said its shares would resume trading when the market opens again on Friday.

Wanda Group is China's largest commercial property company and the world's largest cinema chain operator. Its chairman Wang Jianlin is one of China's richest men.