TEMPO.CO, Dalian - Sluggish business property in China is affected by an economic slowdown, causing Dalian Wanda Group to divert into the movie business. A property business owned by the richest man in China, Wang Jianlin, began to jump in the movie business due to its more prospective market.

The movie industry in China is expected to grow. China is expected to surpass countries in North America in the global movie industry. In the first quarter of 2015, the movie industry in China have grown about 40 percent, while the market in North America is stable.

Wanda Group not only wants to seize the booming opportunity of the movie industry in China, but the company is obsessed to be a main player in the wide-screen global industry.

To realize the obsession, through the subsidiary of Wanda Cinema Line last June, the company announced it will purchase Australia’s largest cinema operator, Hoyst Group. The acquisition value is estimated at 2.24 billion yuan or US$362 million (Rp4.8 trillion). Hoyst owns more than 400 cinema networks in Australia and New Zealand with 2 million viewers each year.

Hoysts acquisition is expected to boost the performance of Wanda Group in overseas markets. To Wang Jianlin, this could open a way to be a global film distributor like Paramount Pictures.

NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW | SETIAWAN ADIWIJAYA