back again...UPDATE 1-Disney, Shanghai complete talks on theme park - paper

(Adds Disney comment in paragraphs 4-5)

SHANGHAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) has completed talks with the Shanghai government on plans to build a Disneyland theme park in the city and the project will be announced soon, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday, citing people close to the talks.

Senior Disney executives came to Shanghai last December to discuss details of cooperation with the local government and the two sides achieved a consensus on the project, the newspaper said.

The project, however, has yet to receive approval from China's central government, which will be essential if it is to go ahead.

A Disney spokeswoman in Hong Kong said there was no agreement on a Shanghai Disneyland project.

"As we have said before, at this time there is no agreement and no deal to build a theme park in Shanghai," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Shanghai government declined to comment.

The plan calls for Shanghai Disneyland to open to the public in 2013, the newspaper said, citing an expert involved in the feasibility study for the project.

Disney has engaged in on-again, off-again talks for more than a decade with the Chinese government over plans to build a large theme park and hotel complex in the southern outskirts of Shanghai's Pudong district.

Those talks were stalled by a Shanghai government scandal in 2006 and Disney's need to focus on Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in 2005 to a string of operational problems and lacklustre attendance.

The Shanghai Securities News also said Shanghai Lujiazui Group and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Group would take part in the construction of the project.

Shares in their listed units Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co (600663.SS) and Shanghai Wai Gaoqiao Free Trade Zone Development Co (600648.SS) rose their 10 percent daily limits in morning trade on Thursday, although by the end of the morning session Shanghai Lujiazui Development had pared its gains to about 4.6 percent. (Reporting by Samuel Shen; Additional reporting by Susan Fenton in Hong Kong; Editing by Edmund Klamann)



http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTech ... 5220090108

 

Source: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/9077 ... 70549.html

Shanghai, Disney deny reported deal to build theme park by 2013

The Walt Disney Co. denied Thursday a report in a Chinese newspaper, which claimed that the company had agreed with Shanghai to build the Chinese mainland's first Disneyland.

"The report is not true and no agreement has been reached," said an assistant to senior manager Tiffany Huang at the Shanghai-based Walt Disney Co. of China.

A report published on Thursday by the Shanghai Securities News quoted unidentified sources, who were said to be policy experts who had been involved in the Disneyland project for years, as saying that the company and the Shanghai government had signed an agreement for a theme park.

The report also said that the project would open in 2013. It would also, according to the newspaper, involve Shanghai Lujiazui Group Company and the Waigaoqiao Group Company.

A spokeswoman with the Shanghai municipal government told Xinhua: "No further progress has been made, and such a big project has to wait for the central government's approval."

Rumors about the project emerged in 2002, and negotiations reportedly went through multiple tough rounds.

Earlier reports said the Disneyland would be located in the southeast suburbs of Shanghai's Pudong area, which is only 20 minutes' drive from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

According to the China Daily website, 10 sq km of land has been set aside for the park, which is estimated to cost 40 billion yuan (about 5.9 billion U.S. dollars).

 

Source: AP

The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it was going to submit a plan to build a new theme park in China in a joint venture with the Shanghai government.

The family entertainment giant released a statement confirming its plans at about the same time as The Wall Street Journal released a story on its Web site that said Disney was working with Shanghai to build a $3.59 billion park to open as early as 2014.

A Disney spokesman declined to comment on the Journal story.

"Discussions have been ongoing about the feasibility of a theme park project in China," said Leslie Goodman, a spokeswoman for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in the statement.

"As part of this lengthy process, we worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai government which will be submitted to the central government for review. No deal has been signed, no project has been approved."

Disney shares were down 35 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $22.55 in Friday afternoon trade.

The Journal said Disney planned to take a 43 percent stake in Shanghai Disneyland, while a holding company owned by the local government would own 57 percent, citing unnamed sources.

The first phase of the project, on about 1.5 square kilometers near Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, would include a theme park, plus a hotel and shopping development and would be built over six years, the paper said.

 

Another update.

Click on headline for link to full article.

Shanghai-Disney deal reached
By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-19 07:34
;
SHANGHAI: Local authorities and the Walt Disney Company have reached an agreement on major issues behind the building of the first Disneyland theme park on the Chinese mainland, Shanghai mayor Han Zheng said over the weekend.

"The municipal government started thinking of a Shanghai Disneyland more than a decade ago," Han said at a press conference after the closing ceremony of the annual session of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on Saturday.

 

More on the developments in Shanghai

Clink on headline for full article at bloomberg.com

Disney Is ‘Optimistic’ Over Shanghai Theme Park Negotiations
By James Peng

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney & Co. said no agreement has been made yet with Chinese authorities on the opening of a Shanghai theme park, although it was “optimistic” as negotiations continued.

An application to build the park was submitted to the relevant government bodies after the Burbank, California-based company had completed a feasibility study, Disney Managing Director for Asia Bill Ernest said today in an interview