(Yicai Global) Oct. 17 -- A media story that claims Sunac China Holdings will take over Wanda Group's culture and tourism business is untrue, Wanda Group said in an official statement today.

Wanda is a pioneer in China's culture and tourism sector and is always optimistic about its prospects, per the statement, which added the company will continue its investments in the field and in its culture and tourism units -- which have departments for planning, construction and project management -- and will foster their sustainable development as the firm's major subsidiaries in the sector.

Wang Jianlin, Wanda's board chairman, is preparing to bid adieu to the culture and tourism sector, and the company is transferring its culture units' core business and staff to Sunac, Caijing Magazine reported yesterday.

The deal would involve most of the group's design, planning, construction and operation businesses and encompass such major units as the culture and tourism planning institute and project construction center, the culture and tourism project company, the themed entertainment company and core creation team and the operation maintenance and management team at the unit's headquarters, per the Caijing report.

After the sale, Wanda would keep just 9 percent of the equity in 13 culture and tourism projects, the report said, and the transfer is underway but has not yet been publicly announced.

Editor: Ben Armour