Conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group on Thursday said it signed a licensing and marketing deal with FIBA, basketball's international governing body.
Wanda will be FIBA's exclusive partner for the sale and marketing of worldwide sponsorship and licensing rights for four FIBA basketball World Cups and their qualifiers during the event cycles up to 2033, according to a press release the Chinese company sent to the Global Times.
FIBA Secretary-General Patrick Baumann and Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin attended the signing ceremony on Thursday.
Wang was quoted on Thursday by domestic news portal chinanews.com as saying that Wanda plans to hold at least 10 international sporting events in China before 2020 and all the events will meet "international and unique standards."
The strategic partnership with FIBA means Wanda has taken another stride into the sports industry, part of the company's diversification strategy.
Wanda reported a 19.1 percent increase in total revenue for 2015. Its commercial property division, which includes housing, commercial centers and hotels, had revenue of 190.45 billion yuan ($28.89 billion), increasing 4.4 percent year-on-year, according to its financial report issued in January.
The cultural business division, which includes cinema operations, reported revenue of 51.28 billion yuan, up 45.7 percent from 2014.
