Shares recover a bit from Thursday’s fall; group to sue rumormongers

Shares in Wanda Film Holding, which crashed almost 10 percent on Thursday, recovered 3.6 percent to close at 53.80 yuan ($7.87) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday.

Thursday’s fall, the worst sell-off since January last year that led to suspension in trading, was caused by market rumors and media reports that offshore loans may have landed Wanda Film, a part of conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, in regulatory trouble.

Unconfirmed rumors earlier this week suggested the China Banking Regulatory Commission may have asked some banks to provide information on offshore loans extended to several mainland firms, including Dalian Wanda Group, Anbang Insurance Group, HNA Group, Fosun International and Zhejiang Luosen, for credit and risk analysis.

On Friday, Dalian Wanda denied existence of any such communication from the CBRC.

The companies concerned have been involved in mergers and acquisitions globally, raising questions about their financing channels.

Early on Friday, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest lender, said talk about the reported CBRC move appears to have been over-interpreted.

Such regulatory checks are routine, ICBC said. Till late Fri-