Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin is worried about the country’s real estate market.
The tycoon who made his fortune in the real estate market and owns China’s largest real estate developer, Dalian Wanda Group, appeared on CNNMoney Wednesday to warn that China’s overheated real estate market is the “biggest bubble in history.”
China has a love-hate relationship with the real estate market. Recently it tried to cool the overheated market in large cities with restrictions on home sales, even punishing property agents who hype the market.
Still, the government’s efforts haven’t slowed the market much, with property sales growing 31.8% in August compared to a year ago.
Wang told CNN that he didn’t see “a good solution” to the major problem in this bubble struggle, which is the disparity in home prices between big cities and third- and fourth-tier cities. Earlier this year, Wang said it would take four or five years to unstock China’s unsold homes in small cities, according to Reuters.
"The problem is the economy hasn't bottomed out," Wang told CNNMoney. "If we remove leverage too fast, the economy may suffer further. So we'll have to wait until the economy is back on the track of rebounding -- that's when we gradually reduce leverage and debts."
Wang is ranked as the second richest man in China in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth $32.1 billion, behind Jack Ma.
He has been gradually shifting his focus from the real estate business to conquering cultural industries in entertainment, sports and tourism. Wang has acquired AMC Cinema Chain in 2012, purchased Legendary Entertainment earlier this year, and is now in talks to buy Dick Clark Productions which produces the Golden Globe awards, according to Reuters.
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