(Yicai Global) Sept. 27 -- Chinese real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group’s property services unit is taking over the management of five Aux Square shopping malls, owned by Chinese developer Aux Real Estate, The Paper reported yesterday.

Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group will replace the existing management teams in two Aux Square shopping malls in Changsha, central Hunan province, one in Chengdu, southwestern Sichuan province, another in Qingdao, eastern Shandong province and one in Hangzhou, southeastern Zhejiang province, the report said, citing an informed source.

Zhuhai Wanda will introduce its new asset-light model when it takes over, the report said. The asset-light strategy means the company will bring in business partners as third-party investors and does not need to invest huge sums of its own money. This enables it to enter new cities fast. The firm said in 2020 that it will no longer use an asset-heavy business model.

Zhuhai Wanda, which had 122 properties under management as of the end of June, provides property owners with preliminary planning assistance, brings in investment, provides management services and allows them use of the ‘Wanda Plaza’ logo. In return, it charges service fees and gets a cut of the rents.

The Zhuhai, southern Guangdong province-based company previously refuted rumors that it is planning to postpone its upcoming initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The listing is proceeding in an orderly way, it said.

Aux Real Estate is part of the real-estate-to-financial-services conglomerate Aux Group. The developer is expanding to other key cities near its home base of Ningbo in Zhejiang province and is also developing real estate projects in Australia and Canada.

Editor: Kim Taylor