Disney inks pact for China theme park

Disney inks pact for China theme park

HONG KONG : The Walt Disney Co. has signed a framework agreement with the Shanghai government to build a theme park there, a newspaper reported Saturday, though a Shanghai official denied the report.

The English-language South China Morning Post quotes unidentified sources as saying that the deal, signed within the past month, includes plans for a joint venture with local companies to build and operate the park.

Disney officials in Hong Kong couldn't be reached for comment Saturday.

In Shanghai, a spokeswoman for the city's Foreign Affairs Office denied that any documents had been signed with Disney. "There has been no news about this," said the spokeswoman, who gave only her surname, Yang.

Further, the mass-market Beijing Youth Daily said both the Shanghai city government and a Disney spokesman had denied reports about plans for the park.

Disney is already scheduled to open a theme park in Hong Kong in 2005. If another theme park is built in Shanghai, it could pose a threat to Disney's Hong Kong business and even Hong Kong's tourism. --AP