By Adam Jourdan
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's curbs on property giant Dalian Wanda Group's overseas deals are spreading a chill at home and abroad, raising fears that a campaign to root out risky overseas investments could draw in rival Chinese conglomerates and even Hollywood studios.
Giant Chinese retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd (SZ:002024), the owner of Italian soccer club Inter Milan, saw its shares tumble on Wednesday after China's state broadcaster cited the firm's 270 million euro deal for the club last year on a show about "irrational" investment overseas.
Wanda-owned cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (N:AMC) and Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment said late on Tuesday their businesses were insulated from curbs imposed by Chinese regulators on overseas spending by their parent. AMC's stock had slid on Monday on fears over the crackdown.
The market jitters come amid a broader drive by Beijing to restrict Chinese conglomerates' moving funds abroad. China is also cracking down on risky lending ahead of a key Communist Party congress in the second half of this year.
Wanda, led by one of China's richest men, Wang Jianlin, is one of several acquisitive Chinese firms that have expanded aggressively overseas into areas beyond their original business.
Chinese banks have been told to stop providing funding for several of Wanda's overseas acquisitions as Beijing looks to curb the conglomerate's offshore buying spree, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
AMC, bought by Wanda for $2.6 billion in 2012, said, however, that four deals for cinema chains completed between 2015 and earlier this year were fully paid for by its own funds and loans from U.S.-based banks.
"At no time was Wanda ever a source of funding for any of these acquisitions or individual theater purchases," AMC said in a statement on Tuesday.
The cinema chain added it had "never received committed financing from any bank headquartered in mainland China for any purpose" and that Wanda does not actively participate in the day-to-day running of AMC beyond three seats on its board.
AMC shares rose 2 percent on Tuesday after the statement. They had plunged 10 percent on Monday on news of the curbs.
Legendary, which Wanda bought in January last year for around $3.5 billion, said in an emailed statement that it was "well capitalized with liquidity to fund its film and TV slates and operate its business as usual".
CCTV
The late-night show on CCTV pointed to Suning's deal for Inter Milan as an example of risky overseas deals. It also named property developer Sunac China (HK:1918) and a separate Chinese deal for AC Milan, which was completed earlier this year.
Suning's vice chairman Sun Weimin told local media that Suning "strongly supported" Chinese policies regarding overseas investment and that the firm's push overseas was to help bolster its market back home.
Suning declined to comment further.
China's powerful state planner had said earlier on Tuesday that it would look to curb irrational overseas investments, underscoring a drive that started last year and which has zeroed in on deals in real estate, entertainment and sport.
The curbs on Wanda, announced at a meeting in June, focus on six overseas deals where lenders have been told not to provide finance or allow Wanda to use its offshore assets as collateral for financing, an internal bank document seen by Reuters showed.
Wanda, a major property developer, has been reining in some of its more ambitious undertakings.
It said this month it would sell tourism projects and hotels to Sunac for $9.3 billion as it looks roll back plans for theme parks and reduce its debt pile.
It also scrapped a $1 billion deal to buy Hollywood production company Dick Clark Productions Inc in March this year.
(For a graphic on 'Top real estate deals in China' click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/WANDA-SUNAC%20CHINA-M-A/010042054C8/wanda-sunac.jpg)
(For a graphic on 'Wanda Group's tourism projects' click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/WANDA-SUNAC%20CHINA-M-A/010042074CE/wanda-parks.jpg)
