The name "Wanda Cinema," used for nearly nine years, has officially been retired. On the afternoon of April 19, Wanda Cinema (002739.SZ) announced the completion of its industrial and commercial registration change, formally adopting the new name "Ruyi Film Entertainment Company Limited."
Notably, the company's stock ticker will also change from "Wanda Cinema" to "Ruyi Film" starting April 20, 2026. This marks the final transition for China's leading cinema chain operator from the Wanda group to the Ruyi group.
The ownership change, which began with equity sales in 2023, progressed to the transfer of control in 2024, and now culminates in the full rebranding. Throughout this more than two-year capital restructuring process, the name Ke Liming has frequently appeared.
Now, another financial asset acquired by Ke Liming from Wanda Group—the payment platform Kuaiqian Payment—is under scrutiny due to consumer complaints.
**Part 1: Bidding Farewell to Wanda** Wanda Cinema was established in 2005 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January 2015, becoming the first publicly traded cinema chain company on the A-share market. At its peak, it was not only a major player in China's box office but also a core asset in Wanda Group founder Wang Jianlin's cultural industry portfolio.
However, as the real estate sector underwent significant adjustments, Wanda Group faced a liquidity crisis in 2023 and began selling assets to raise funds. Wanda Cinema was put on the market.
In July 2023, Beijing Wanda Culture Industry Group agreed to transfer a 49% stake in Wanda Cinema's controlling shareholder, Beijing Wanda Investment, to Shanghai Ruyi Film Production for 2.262 billion yuan. Through this transaction, Shanghai Ruyi Film indirectly acquired approximately 9.8% of Wanda Cinema.
In December of the same year, Wang Jianlin, Wanda Culture Industry Group, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Beijing Hengrun Enterprise Management further agreed to sell a 51% stake in Beijing Wanda Investment to Shanghai Ruyi Investment Management for 2.155 billion yuan. Upon completion, Shanghai Ruyi Investment held a 51% stake in Beijing Wanda Investment, becoming the controlling shareholder of Wanda Cinema. Ke Liming thus indirectly gained control of approximately 20% of Wanda Cinema, becoming the new actual controller.
By April 15, 2024, the change in control of Wanda Cinema was finalized, with Wang Jianlin stepping down as the actual controller. One year later, the adjustment of the company name and stock ticker signifies the official departure of the "Wanda Cinema" brand, once emblematic of the real estate era, from the capital market.
Ke Liming, who took over Wanda Cinema, has no prior experience operating cinemas but has deep ties to the film industry. Public records show that Ke Liming was born in 1982 in Huanggang, Hubei Province, and went to study in Australia after junior high school. In 2000, he enrolled at Griffith University, majoring in Risk Management, and obtained a master's degree in Monetary Banking in 2004.
After graduation, Ke worked as a senior analyst at Hong Kong-based Persistent Hedge Fund Management. In 2009, he returned to mainland China and joined Beijing Ruyi Xinxin Film & Television Investment, controlled by his elder brother Ke Jiuming, venturing into film and television investment.
Ruyi Xinxin has recently led the production of popular films such as "Detective Chinatown 1900," "Hi, Mom," and "Send Me to the Clouds," as well as hit TV series like "To the Wonder," "The Wind Blows From Longxi," "The Old Tavern," "Nirvana in Fire," and "The Legend of Mi Yue."
In 2020, Ke Liming sold Ruyi Xinxin and other assets to Hong Kong-listed Hengten Networks for 7.2 billion HKD. In August 2021, he became Chairman and Executive Director of Hengten Networks. In February 2022, Hengten Networks officially changed its name to CHINA RUYI. Leveraging resources from major shareholder Tencent Holdings, it established subsidiary Jingxiu Games in March of the same year.
Today, Ke Liming's CHINA RUYI has formed a content ecosystem encompassing "film production + streaming media + games," with Wanda Cinema now completing the offline cinema component of this puzzle. According to its annual report, CHINA RUYI reported revenue of approximately 3.343 billion yuan in 2025, a decrease of 8.93% year-on-year, but achieved a net profit of 1.786 billion yuan, turning a profit for the full year.
As of the end of 2025, Ke Liming indirectly held 15.64% of CHINA RUYI through Pumpkin Films Limited, while Tencent held a 15.37% stake.
**Part 2: Kuaiqian Payment Entangled in Controversy** Apart from Wanda Cinema, another asset Wang Jianlin sold to Ke Liming was the third-party payment platform Kuaiqian Payment. Kuaiqian Payment Clearing Information Co., Ltd. was established in April 2004 and obtained a third-party payment license from the People's Bank of China in 2011, making it one of the first companies to receive such a license in China.
At the end of 2014, Wanda acquired a 68.7% stake in Kuaiqian Payment for $315 million (approximately 2 billion yuan), officially entering the internet finance sector. During Wanda's asset disposal process, Kuaiqian Payment was also included in the transfer scope.
In June 2024, Wanda's subsidiary Shanghai Wanda Internet Financial Service pledged all equity of Kuaiqian Payment's parent company, Kuaiqian Financial Services (Shanghai), to Ningbo Meishan Bonded Port Area Changsheng Private Fund Management. In July 2025, CHINA RUYI announced that its subsidiary intended to acquire a 30% stake in Kuaiqian Financial from Shanghai Wanda Internet Financial Service for 240 million yuan.
By December 2025, the PBOC disclosed that the actual controller of Kuaiqian Payment had been approved for change to Ke Liming. This indicates that Ke Liming has taken over not only Wanda Cinema but also the payment business once highly valued by Wanda.
However, compared to the capital potential of the film assets, Kuaiqian Payment seems to be bringing some compliance pressures. The Black Cat Complaint Platform shows that in the past 30 days, there have been 679 complaints related to Kuaiqian Payment, many alleging unauthorized fee deductions by the platform.
For example, one consumer complained on April 20, stating that after applying for a 5000 yuan loan on a platform on April 7, with the order status showing "normal repayment in progress," they were charged three unauthorized fees totaling 1117 yuan by Kuaiqian Payment around 06:19 on April 8. The consumer claimed this occurred without signing up for any membership services, purchasing value-added products, or authorizing any deduction agreements. The complainant demanded a full refund and the closure of all deduction permissions linked to their bank card.
More notably, Kuaiqian Payment has been identified as a key component in the loan referral trap associated with the "Shanqu Gou" app. The "Shanqu Gou" app launched in March 2026, operated by Shenzhen YuYue Technology, a company established on January 4, 2026, with registered capital of only 2 million yuan and no relevant qualifications for financial or lending businesses.
Recent media reports indicate that the "Shanqu Gou" app superficially functions as a points mall but allegedly tricks users into paying membership fees under the pretext of needing to become a member before applying for a loan. Users are directed from third-party platforms via low-interest loan advertisements to "Shanqu Gou," where they are induced to complete real-name verification, facial recognition, and bank card binding without clear warnings about membership fees or deduction risks. After paying membership fees ranging from 29.9 yuan to 999 yuan, users reportedly still fail to receive the loan. As the payment channel for "Shanqu Gou," Kuaiqian Payment plays a crucial role in the fund transfer process.
Since 2022, Kuaiqian Payment has been penalized multiple times by the PBOC for business violations, with total fines exceeding 17 million yuan. As Kuaiqian Payment becomes embroiled in controversies related to "Shanqu Gou," how will Ke Liming, as its actual controller, respond? The outcome remains to be seen.