Fund-hungry developers flock to the Internet to find investors

After successfully raising 450 million yuan this April through its peer-to-peer financing product, it plans to raise more funds for other developments.

Many commentators remain skeptical, however. Robert Fong, a property analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said properties with stable rental flows are the cornerstones of crowdfunding, and it will be difficult for Chinese mainland developers to copy their Hong Kong counterparts, who rely on rent as recurring revenue, instead of sales.

"China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd, a leading developer, in 2008 aimed to scoop 20 percent of its revenue from rent in five years. Now it's 2015 and the target has not been achieved," said Fong.

"It is not good if developers do not tap the Internet for finance. But when they do, it is hard to see any return in the near term."

Lawyers also see legal pitfalls. Zhao Yanchun from Allbright Law Offices said an equity crowdfunding is essentially a mini-IPO, and so requires rigorous information disclosure and a high thresh-old for "qualified investors"－something both of Wanda's projects lack, said Zhao.

So until China passes laws that legalize non-accredited individuals to invest online into private firms, crowdfunding in China will continue to walk in the gray zone.