Wanda's 1 billion for poverty alleviation in Danzhai, Guizhou

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China's new model: Company's take on poverty at local levels

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Dec 01, 2014, 09:41 ET

BEIJING, Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Invest 1 billion RMB to develop key industries and help the poor, and in five years per capita income can be doubled.' On Dec 2, Wanda signed a contract to help eliminate poverty with the LGOP (Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development) China, LGOP Guizhou and Danzhai County. Mr. Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, stressed that the contract should not be seen as an investment. Instead, it aims to develop a new, reproducible model from which farmers can directly benefit from. Moreover, this model is expected to double per capita income in five years, significantly improving the chances of the entire county to step out of poverty. Mr. Liu Yongfu, Director of LGOP, praised the practice as an innovative form of poverty alleviation in China.

Wanda's model for Danzhai is rather new, in that companies are tasked with taking on poverty at a county level. It is not merely a donation, nor is it simply an investment for building factories. Wanda aims to combine short-term and long-term goals, merging industry with education in a way that will eventually increase per capita income and poverty alleviation as a whole. Wanda also chose to play to Danzhai's industrial strengths and plans to invest in deep-processing enterprises, namely pig farming and zinc-selenium tea planting. A pig farming and processing plant will be built with a capacity of 300,000, and efforts will be made to establish a large-scale pig-farming factory in each village, with piglets and animal feed in particular, to be supplied by the new enterprise. In this model, each farmer is to become a shareholder free of charge and will eventually see a return in their investment. A tea-processing factory with a capacity of 10,000 tons will also be built, so that product orders will be sent directly to all farmers in Danzhai and further increase their profits.

Wanda will collaborate with the Guizhou provincial government and three technical schools from the Qian Dongnan Prefecture area to recruit 300-500 students from Danzhai each year, who will be selected upon graduation to work at Wanda Group.

Furthermore, Wanda Group will employ 10,000 individuals each year from Danzhai to work for the subsidiary companies of its strategic partners, hoping to alleviate poverty through work.

The new model in Danzhai focuses on making full use of its own advantages. Wanda Group owns the biggest retail channels in China, with numerous Wanda Plazas and large-scale retail networks with partners. With this arsenal at their disposal, Wanda will be able to set up sales companies and transport products from Danzhai to markets all over China. This cycle of farming, processing and trading will provide long-lasting benefits to the county.

In 2013, Danzhai had a population of 171,641, among whom 51,311 people were classed as poor. Around 30,000 families will benefit from Wanda's assistance in education and industry, which basically covers a substantial portion of the poorest and significantly aids in overall poverty alleviation. In order for the model to be as successful as possible in Danzhai, Wanda will assign experienced senior management on both county and village levels to improve overall project efficiency. Those who are assigned on the projects in Danzhai will be given preferential treatment in terms of salary and promotion.

Wanda Group has regarded poverty alleviation as an important part of their philanthropic efforts. By June 2014, Wanda Group had donated over 3.7 billion yuan to towards charitable causes, and since the establishment of the 'China Charity Award' in 2005, Wanda has won the award seven times out of the eight years it has been running, more than any other company in China. Since their inception, Wanda Group have remained committed to poverty alleviation through innovative models, and have achieved remarkable results over the years. The United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee and the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce have presented Wanda with a 'Glorious Practice Outstanding Award in China', and The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation has also presented them with a 'China Poverty Alleviation Award'. In addition to this, the State Council has presented a 'National Advanced Individual for Poverty Alleviation' to Mr. Wang Jianlin.

Mr. Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Wanda Group, believes that this model to be employed in Danzhai is a totally new attempt at poverty alleviation. He hopes that via Wanda's efforts can become an example for other practices nationwide, so that more large companies can be called upon to participate in the issue of poverty.

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SOURCE Dalian Wanda Group