Wanda outlines plans for cultural projects

Wang Jianlin, chairman and president of the Dalian Wanda Group, outlined his company's ambitious plans at the recent 2012 Cultural and Creative Industry Summit in Beijing, which was held under the theme New Strategy, New Impetus and New Development.

"The Wanda Group will develop three cultural locations in Dalian, Beijing and Guangzhou, with Dalian focusing on film-making and operations, and Beijing on cultural travel, in hopes of getting a revenue of more than 80 billion yuan ($12.62 billion) in 2020," Wang said.

The company started to invest in the cultural industry in 2005 and now operates in six culture-related industries, such as film production and distribution, stage shows and entertainment chains. It is the world's largest cinema operator after acquiring the world's second-largest cinema chain, Group AMC Theater Co.

Meanwhile, COFCO Property also talked about its new cultural and creative projects at the summit.

The summit's sponsors, including Wanda Group and COFCO Property, are all real estate developers.

"The development of cultural projects needs the support of real-estate companies," says Zhang Huiguang, community Party secretary of the Beijing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Office. "We believe real-estate developers will help promote cultural development under the supervision of the government."

"In 2011, Beijing's cultural and creative industries achieved revenue of 900 billion yuan, an increase of 14.2 percent compared with the year before, accounting for 12.1 percent of the city's GDP," said Lu Wei, vice-mayor and director of the Publicity Department of the Beijing municipal government.

"Beijing will develop the industry to be the city's pillar industry, with the support of culture and technology, in 2020," Lu said.

At the summit, domestic and foreign officials, scholars and entrepreneurs discussed topics such as how to establish cultural businesses.

The summit, the first of its kind, is hosted by The Beijing News, and supported by the Beijing Municipal Publicity Department and the Beijing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Office.