|
Disney says no deal yet on Shanghai park
2008-07-01
SHANGHAI (AFP) - Entertainment giant Walt Disney on Monday said it had not yet reached an agreement with the Chinese government to build its first mainland China theme park in Shanghai. A spokeswoman was responding to questions about a report that it was expected to open a 10-square-kilometre (6.2-square-mile) site near Shanghai's Pudong airport as early as 2012. "We have a continuing dialogue with the government about all aspects of our business, including theme parks, but there is no announcement and no deal," Disney spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith said. A Shanghai government spokesman also said the government had no update to release. The Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong daily closely associated with the Chinese government, reported over the weekend that a deal had been reached with Disney after a decade of talks. Disney was expected to announce an agreement around the time of the Beijing Olympics in August, the report said, citing an unnamed person involved in negotiations between Disney and the Shanghai government. According to the report, Disney's Shanghai theme park would be eight times the size of the company's park in Hong Kong, which opened in 2005 and is 57-percent government owned. The Chinese government would provide the land in exchange for a stake in the Shanghai park, but Disney would manage the facility, the report said. Initially, Disney had hoped to open its Shanghai theme park in 2010 to coincide with the city's World Expo, but that time frame had been pushed back to 2012 or 2013, the report said.
| 
