By Axel Threfall
DAVOS,
Switzerland (Reuters) - China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, said on
Tuesday that rising tensions between the United States and China will
affect trade, although he's confident that his Dalian Wanda Group's
investment in the country's entertainment industry will not be hampered.
Wang,
speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum
in Davos, said his group has earmarked $5 billion to $10 billion each
year for outbound investment, focussing on entertainment and sports.
The
billionaire property tycoon-turned-entertainment mogul said the United
States would be the top priority for investment opportunities, followed
by Europe, as his group seeks to extend its overseas buying spree.
"Certainly
trade will be affected by the tension between the two governments,"
Wang said, referring to Beijing and the government of U.S.
president-elect Donald Trump. "If I can lobby I'm willing, but I'm not
capable of lobbying both."
Wang
said his company would not be affected by the tension between the two
sides because Trump would not block money going into the United States.
Trump
often targeted China in the U.S. election campaign, blaming Beijing for
U.S. job losses and vowing to impose 45 percent tariffs on Chinese
imports.
"We
will go to invest in the U.S. and I believe they will not close the
door to us but maybe they will have some regulations regarding trade,"
Wang said.
In
November, Dalian Wanda agreed a $1 billion takeover of Dick Clark
Productions, the company that runs the Golden Globe awards and Miss
America pageants.
Wanda
already owns Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of film hits such as
"Jurassic World" - which was the biggest U.S.-China movie deal when it
was sealed in January last year. It also owns
U.S. cinema chain AMC
Entertainment Holdings (AMC.N).
Wang
told Reuters that his group was interested in buying one more U.S.
movie studio although there was not substantial progress in the talks so
far because few were willing to sell.
Speaking
on the outlook for China's property market, where Wanda started its
business empire, the 62-year-old tycoon said there was a bubble "that
was local in nature" and he expected a small correction due to
government intervention.
Wang
this month criticised China's close control of its property industry,
saying the "excessive cyclicality" caused by that was a reason for his
conglomerate's planned move to exit the real estate development
business.
He
shrugged off concerns over China's government and corporate debt
situation, saying he believed it was manageable thanks to solid growth
in the country's domestic economy.
The
group was considering a "a very large" tourism project in Australia
because it was one of the favourite destinations for Chinese tourists,
Wang also said, without elaborating.
Wang
was speaking to Reuters TV in Davos and also answered questions in the
Reuters Global Markets Forum, a chat room on the Eikon platform. For
more information on this and other editorial forums: (http://tmsnrt.rs/2jTnFk8)
(Reporting
by Axel Threfall; Additional reporting by Martinne Geller in DAVOS,
Billy Chan and Clare Jim in HONG KONG,; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree;
Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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