(May 24): Dalian Wanda Group Co is weighing the sale of as many as 20 shopping malls in wealthy areas of China, according to people familiar with the matter, as the indebted conglomerate tries to avert a liquidity crunch.

The company has reached out to prospective investors including insurance companies and asset management firms about divesting some of its malls in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces as well as in Shanghai, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

Wanda is seeking a valuation of about 700 million yuan (US$99 million) to 800 million yuan for each mall, depending on their location and business, the people said. A mall in Shanghai could fetch as much as 1 billion yuan as the city’s average household income ranks among the highest in the country, another person said.

The firm may also explore other options for the malls including selling stakes, one of the people said. Wanda may decide to sell more malls in the region depending on investor response, the person said.

Deliberations are ongoing and Wanda could still decide to keep the assets, they added. A representative for Wanda didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The sale plan comes as Wanda braces for a potential cash squeeze if it fails to list its mall operator unit in Hong Kong by the end of this year. As part of an earlier agreement with investors, Wanda may have to repurchase about 30 billion yuan of equity if the initial public offering doesn’t happen by December, according to a regulatory document. Wanda has also been in talks with major Chinese banks on a loan relief plan, Bloomberg News reported in May.