Wanda Group, one of the country's largest private property developers, will offer 60,000 new jobs this year, a company executive said on Wednesday.

"Most of the jobs are created by our rapid expansion this year," Wang Jianlin, Wanda's chairman, told China Daily on the sidelines of the annual sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Wanda plans to build eight shopping malls and two five-star hotels this year. The company has spent 11 billion yuan in grabbing five pieces of land in Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Tianjin, Hefei and Hohhot since the fourth quarter of last year, despite the sluggish property market.

(chinadaily.com.cn March 11, 2009)