Wanda Faces Fiscal and Management Woes Wang Jianlin, once the country’s richest man for multiple years, has been selling off assets at home and abroad to repay debts. Wang chairs Dalian Wanda Group, which reportedly has racked up a debt load of RMB 400 billion. China’s largest cinema operator boasting more than 400 cinemas, Wanda Cinema Line is one of the key assets of the Wanda Group. Its box office revenue tops the national chart for consecutive years. In a company notice issued to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Wanda Film Holdings (002739.SZ) said it had planned to acquire a Wanda Media. In anticipation of the restructuring, Wanda Film remained suspended from trading. In July 4th, the Shenzhen stock exchange sent a letter of inquiry to the Wanda filmon the Shenzhen stock market, which asked Wanda Film to make a detailed disclosure of its frequent changes in human resources. For the changes in the management of the two general managers and six deputy general managers from August 2015 to March 2018, Wanda Film was asked to disclose whether there was an agreement on prohibition and any related dispute. Prior to that, Jiang Defu, General Manager of Wanda Pictures, Jia Yanjiang, Deputy General Manager of film production unit Wanda Pictures, and Que Wenxiong, General Manager of theatrical distributor Wuzhou Film Distribution, resigned on 9 March. Note that Jiang and Que were with Wanda for less than a year. After having suspended its stocks for half a year, Wanda Film Holdings suffered an estimated significant loss of over RMB 20 billion. Wanda’s ongoing changes in management have gone viral in the film industry and stock market. As many as 20 executives from its film divisions resigned, many due to personal reason, in the recent three years. Some examples are: August 2015 – Chen Hongwei, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures March 2016 – Liu Qingqing, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures July 2016 – Zhao Fang, former General Manager Wanda Pictures June 2017 – Wei Huidong, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures July 2017 – Wang Changchun, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures September 2017 – Wang Weizhong, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures March 2018 – Jiang defu, former General Manager Wanda Pictures March 2018 – Jia Yanjiang, former Deputy General Manager Wanda Pictures Eight executives departed in 2017 alone, contrary to Wanda’s claim of “among Wanda’s 40 senior executives, no one offered to resign this year”. Wang Jianlin, born to a family with a strong military background, leads his empire with a strong military discipline. Some website once held a poll on “Why did you leave Wanda?”. Most of the respondents cited “overly fast-paced work environment and too much pressure”. In other words, stressful deadlines and performance expectations heighten anxiety and take an emotional toll. A female manager of Wanda Nanjing committed suicide after getting accused by her supervisor in a meeting in June this year. Netizens commented on WeChat vowing “Join Vanke or Wanda? Over my dead body”. Wanda’s financial health, human resources predicament and tumbling revenue leave observers unsure of its next steps. .