NAJIB BLUNDERS BIG TIME: WANDA NOT IN LIST OF BANDAR MALAYSIA BIDDERS, WEBSITE SAYS BILLIONAIRE WANG MET NAJIB WITHOUT EVER MENTIONING THE PROJECT

Dalian Wanda Group, the troubled Chinese property-to-entertainment giant, has abandoned its bid for a mega project that will house the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project, months after being considered a “front runner” for the project.

The multibillion-dollar Bandar Malaysia property development project has received nine pitches on how to develop the 197-hectare site, according to a report Tuesday by the Straits Times, which cited Malaysian government officials.

Wanda, which was reported in May to be in the running for the project, was not included among the list of candidates that had submitted proposals to Malaysian authorities, according to the Straits Times report. Seven Chinese and two Japanese firms were cited as applicants to become master developers of the project.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met with Wanda’s founder Wang Jianlin on May 13 in Wanda’s Beijing headquarters, when he led a delegation to attend China’s Belt and Road Forum. Razak at the time praised Wanda’s ability to bring “something extraordinary” to Bandar Malaysia. But after returning to Malaysia, he said that the development model would change, with the ministry retaining ownership of the land and with the possibility that more than one Chinese entity would be involved.

Wanda’s official website said Wang met Razak, without mentioning the project.

Wanda declined to comment when contacted by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday about the status of its bid for Bandar Malaysia.

 The Strait Times said senior Malaysian government officials acknowledged that they held preliminary talks with Wanda on the project, but later decided to widen their options by calling for international proposals on how to proceed with the development.

On Friday Wang Jianlin vowed to shift his investment focus “mainly in China”, following revelations that Chinese regulators had instructed the country’s largest lenders to cut funding for six of the company’s overseas acquisitions. The Bandar Malaysia project was not among the six that lost funding support.

This is believed to contribute to Wang’s decision in early July to sell-off the majority of his hotel and theme park holdings.

Wanda is among five Chinese private companies to be targeted by regulators amid a crackdown on overseas acquisitions.

– http://www.scmp.com/