China Central Broadcasting Network Beijing May 23rd news (reporter Liu Fei) According to the Voice of China "News Evening Peak" report, Wanda Group’s purchase of the Spanish building and investment in reconstruction can be said to be twists and turns. The event has been reversed several times. In 2014, Wanda Group bought the Spanish building for 265 million euros. But since then, there have been reports that the renovation plan has been resisted by the local municipal government and some citizens. Earlier this year, it was exposed that Wanda Group was going to sell the building.
These have repeatedly pushed Wanda Group and its chairperson Wang Jianlin to the forefront of public opinion. Last night, in an interview show, Wanda Group chairperson Wang Jianlin responded to this, saying that he could not afford to be offended and hide, but he did not rule out the possibility of "continuing to do it".
The Spanish Tower is located in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and is a local landmark. However, after the 1970s, the function of the building began to shrink and changed hands several times. In 2014, the building welcomed a Chinese buyer. Wanda Group bought the Spanish Tower from Santander for 265 million euros. Wanda Group’s development department staff said in an interview with the media that the renovation plan is due to the consideration of building quality. The best solution is to demolish the building and restore it inch by inch to ensure that there will be a high-quality landmark building in the next 40 or even 100 years.
But since then, it has been reported that Wanda and the local government cannot reach an agreement on the renovation plan of the Spanish building. The Madrid Local Historical Heritage Committee asked to keep the original appearance of the west side of the building and the facade on both sides of the side; some local citizens established an "anti-Wang Jianlin demolition and reconstruction" website, and within a few weeks, it won the support of the 70,000 citizens. Wang Jianlin said that from the cost point of view, if it can be renovated, he does not want to rebuild. "Experts in Spain have identified that due to the non-use of the reasons, a lot of steel bars inside are corroded, and this building can no longer bear the load and must be demolished. It is not my opinion. As for me, I went like a’local tyrant ‘and said that this building can still be used. How can I demolish it and start again? Isn’t it more cost-effective to renovate this building a little bit? The cost of demolition and reconstruction is higher, but there is no way. "
Facing resistance from the local municipal government and some citizens, Wang Jianlin said that no more investment would be made, and another tourism project originally planned for Spain would also be "moved."
Wang Jianlin said frankly, "I didn’t expect that as soon as the general election was held, the government that sold me this building and signed the agreement would step down. The opposition party that came up said no, no, no. After negotiating with him for a long time, it was no. I told my colleagues in the overseas center that since we said no, we can’t afford to be offended. We can hide, sell it, and let’s leave. We announced that this building is going to be sold and will no longer be invested. And a bigger tourism project that was originally scheduled for Spain has now moved to France."
However, according to local media reports, the local government is concerned that the news of Wanda’s sale of the Spanish building will make other interested investors in Madrid worried. Wang Jianlin said that due to factors such as local employment pressure, the local area is still discussing, and if an agreement is reached, it will not be ruled out to continue the project. "The [local] government has now come to discuss with us that you still continue to do it, and it can be demolished, so we are now waiting for him to give us a final official letter. You say whether we can rebuild, and it is not ruled out that we will go back and fix it. After all, this location is important. We will not have trouble with money."
As for the twists and turns of the Spanish building investment project, Wang Jianlin said that it is necessary to keep in mind the lessons. You cannot invest in projects without planning permission in the future. It is also a lesson for Chinese companies to keep in mind.
Analyzing Wanda Group’s investment in the Spanish building, Chen Fengying, director of the Institute of World Economics at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that Chinese companies should pay attention to political, legal, economic and other issues when they go out. The first is the change of regime. Such cases often occur internationally. The second practical issue is the issue of legal procedures. There is still a certain gap between China and the world, especially in the West. The last one must pay attention to the economic situation in this region. If there is a problem with the economic situation, they will be xenophobic, and changes in their mentality will also affect the normal progress of the merger and acquisition case.
