Wanda Group eyes Beverly Hills property   

(ECNS) – Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin continues his march into Hollywood.

Wang's Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group announced Thursday that it has won a bid to develop a prime lot in Hollywood for $1.2 billion.

The land, located at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, is 10 minutes drive from Hollywood and 10 minutes walk from the famous luxury shopping street Rodeo Drive. It's surrounded by international hotels and close to the Los Angeles Country Club, a place Hollywood celebrities frequent.

The project will cover a building area of 110,000 square meters, including 80,000 above ground and 30,000 underground. Wanda plans to build it into a comprehensive high-end complex.

The project is a move into the cultural industry after Wanda acquired AMC Theaters for $2.6 billion in 2012. Wang said earlier that Wanda will acquire one or two big foreign cultural companies this year.

Being close to Hollywood will enable Wanda to take advantage of the rich resources there to support the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis (a large studio under Wanda) and the Qingdao Film Festival.

Meanwhile, Wanda will set up an office in Los Angeles to manage culture related investments including Hollywood movies, and to promote the Chinese movie industry and Chinese culture.

The project in Hollywood is Wanda's third move this year to expand its overseas empire.

In June, Wanda bought the Edificio Espana, a landmark in Madrid for 265 million euros ($358 m). In July, it put in 900 million dollars to build Chicago's third-tallest skyscraper.

As of now, Wanda has invested over $80 billion in overseas projects.