Wanda close to selling two luxury assets in Australia

BEIJING - Wanda Hotel Development Co has corrected a statement that last week appeared to contradict an English-language version of an announcement by the unit of billionaire Wang Jianlin's entertainment conglomerate.

The Chinese-language announcement, which referred to a pending acquisition, was mistaken and should have referred to a "very substantial disposal," the hotel unit said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing Monday, citing a translation error. The announcement was made to explain why trading in shares of the company was halted.

Dalian Wanda Group, facing intensified regulatory scrutiny over what authorities called "irrational" overseas investments, is close to reaching an agreement to sell two Australian luxury property projects - one in Sydney and another in Gold Coast, according to people familiar with the matter. Wanda said last week it had agreed to sell its interests in the London luxury development project, One Nine Elms, for $81 million.