New | Tips from China’s richest man: Wang Jianlin shares his secrets to success as Dalian Wanda goes global
How to retain staff after an acquisition and make them work hard for you, what’s Wanda’s edge in the global market and how Wang is leading the enterprise to greater heights… China’s richest man tells all at Harvard event
Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China, delivered a lecture at Harvard Business School in the United States last month. He spoke about his business success and his dream of making Wanda into a leading global multi-industry enterprise.
Wang shares his views in a question-and-answer session as well as a discussion with Willy Shih, professor of management practice business at Harvard.
You recently acquired Infront Sports & Media, in Switzerland, invested in Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid and, most recently, the Ironman Triathlon. These are very different businesses. What is your vision here?
Wanda is already the world’s largest sports company in terms of income. There are few sports companies that make more than US$10 billion a year. Our dream is to improve China’s sports industry by adapting to the development of the mainland’s economy and society.
Of course, Wanda may realise an opportunity to expand, increase profits and gain recognition from capital markets in the process. For example, China has more than 1.3 billion people, but measured by American standards, revenue from China’s sports industry may be less than US$30 billion. The United States’ sports industry, or the global sport industry, is only about sports events, sports economy and sports communication, instead of the manufacture of sportswear and equipment. In contrast, America’s sports industry attains a revenue of more than US$500 billion and it has only 300 million people.
China’s per capita income is only 60 per cent to 70 per cent of America’s. As an emerging sector, China’s sports industry has tremendous room for growth. At the start of the year, China’s State Council formulated a plan that expects its sports industry to reach a net worth of 500 billion yuan (HK$610 billion) by 2025, which will come up to around US$1 trillion, or at least US$800 billion, if the yuan appreciates. It means there is ample room to grow in China.
So Wanda not only bought the companies you mentioned, but will conduct a series of acquisitions in sports. Our goal is to make sure that the businesses of acquired companies can touch down in the Chinese market and promote the development of this kind of sports industry.
