Wanda answers Hollywood call with $1.2b development project

After snapping up high-end property in Madrid and allocating nearly $1 billion to build a luxury hotel in Chicago earlier this year, Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd has unveiled a plan to invest $1.2 billion to build a mixed-use development in Los Angeles that will help it make inroads into Hollywood.

Wanda, China's largest commercial property developer, said in a statement on Thursday that the project, which has a construction area of 110,000 square meters in a premier site in Los Angeles, will be a high-end landmark in the city.

The investment marks Wanda's first move into the Hollywood film industry. The group, which owns United States-based exhibition giant AMC Theaters, said it will set up an office in Los Angeles to handle Wanda's cultural investment and make full use of Hollywood's rich resources in the film industry.