Make me your Homepage
    left corner left corner
    China Daily Website

    Wanda readies AMC cinemas for close-up

    Updated: 2013-01-20 10:35
    By Chen Weihua in Washington (China Daily)
    Wanda readies AMC cinemas for close-up

    China's Dalian Wanda Group Co is upgrading many of the theaters included in its 2012 acquisition of US-based AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. This 25-screen cinema is on West 42nd Street in New York. [Photo by Hu Haidan/China Daily]

    Moviegoers in the United States might be unaware of last year's ownership change at AMC theaters, but an impending chain-wide upgrade featuring 3-D movies and snazzier food options could grab their attention.

    As part of its $2.6 billion acquisition of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, completed in September, China-based Dalian Wanda Group Co has promised to spend $500 million to refurbish AMC cinemas over the next four years and reduce debt in the US company.

    "AMC is in the process of updating its circuit from coast to coast through this acquisition, as well as enhancements such as our AMC Dine-In Theatres, improved sight and sound, new concession areas and options, and better seating," company spokesman Ryan Noonan says.

    "All these enhancements are designed to deliver an amazing experience and get our movie-loving guests excited about coming to the theater to see their favorite films on the big screen."

    Wang Jianlin, the real estate mogul who is Wanda's founder and chairman, shared his view of the spending around the time of the deal's completion.

    "My vision is that in three or four years, the reinvestment will give AMC an edge over competitors," Wang says.

    Wanda readies AMC cinemas for close-up

    In a new light

    The acquisition, which required the approval of regulators in China and the US, makes Wanda the world's biggest operator of movie theaters. AMC had been owned since 2004 by a group of US private-equity firms, including Apollo Global Management LLC, Bain Capital LLC and Carlyle Group LP.

    The cinema chain, with more than 5,000 screens, remains the largest in the US by revenue. (AMC Entertainment isn't connected to US cable television producer AMC Networks Inc.)

    Unlike some other Chinese enterprises that have invested in the US, Wanda learned early on how to get the most out of an acquisition.

    When Wang visited AMC's home base of Kansas City, Missouri, four months ago, he promised to donate $1.3 million to the community.

    Wanda and AMC are providing 13 Kansas City-area high schools with art and educational supplies, as well as movie screenings that educators can use to supplement classroom education.

    As an incentive for faculty and student achievement, the companies are also supplying many families of the 13 schools' students with free movie passes, popcorn and drinks, including for all of this year's graduates, according to Noonan. He says the giveaways are worth $1.3 million.

    Columbia University professor Karl Sauvant says efforts at good corporate citizenship undertaken by Japanese companies in the US has helped improve Americans' view of investment from Japan since an initially negative reception in the 1980s.

    Viking Weiqiong Tao, of the Dallas-based law firm Kane Russell Coleman & Logan, believes Chinese companies are paying more attention to the principle of corporate social responsibility.

    For Wanda's Wang, the largesse isn't a first. The businessman ranks No 1 on Forbes China's 2011 list of the country's leading philanthropists and is honorary chairman of the China Charity Federation. He has pledged to donate most of his fortune to society, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

    Wanda issued a report on corporate social responsibility that showed the company in 2012 donated 390 million yuan ($62 million) to charity and public causes, and sponsored 761 volunteer activities with the participation of nearly 61,000 people.

    Wang called the AMC deal - one of the biggest Chinese investments in the US last year - the first step in Wanda's global expansion.

    He believes private companies, such as Wanda, can outperform State-owned enterprises, which have dominated Chinese direct investment abroad.

    During his visit to Los Angeles, the chairman said Wanda plans to invest $30 billion in cinemas, hotels and department stores outside China, with a third of that to be allocated to US companies in the coming decade.

    "We have the will and capability to go global," Wang says.

    chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn

     
     
    ...
    ...
    国产成人无码区免费内射一片色欲 | 国产精品三级在线观看无码| 日本乱中文字幕系列观看| 东京热加勒比无码少妇| 永久免费av无码网站yy| 午夜视频在线观看www中文| 免费A级毛片无码无遮挡| 特级无码毛片免费视频尤物| 久久有码中文字幕| 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 人妻少妇精品无码专区动漫 | 亚洲AV无码成人精品区在线观看| 精品亚洲欧美中文字幕在线看| 亚洲最大av无码网址| 精品亚洲成α人无码成α在线观看 | 国产成人三级经典中文| 无码少妇一区二区浪潮av| 国产又爽又黄无码无遮挡在线观看| 亚洲A∨无码无在线观看| 亚洲午夜无码久久久久| 精品亚洲AV无码一区二区三区| 最近中文字幕完整版免费高清| 亚洲色中文字幕无码AV| A最近中文在线| 日韩亚洲欧美中文在线| 亚洲不卡中文字幕无码| 色吊丝中文字幕| 欧美精品中文字幕亚洲专区| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕久久| 亚洲午夜无码AV毛片久久| 亚洲AV永久无码天堂影院| 天码av无码一区二区三区四区| 亚洲中文字幕无码爆乳av中文| 国产精品热久久无码av| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线水卜樱 | 欧美日韩中文国产一区| 爆操夜夜操天天操中文| 中文字幕日韩欧美| 国产av无码专区亚洲av果冻传媒| 国产成人无码av| 精品人妻系列无码天堂|