WALT Disney Co. on Friday signed a formal agreement with a company backed by the Shanghai Municipal Government to build a long-planned theme park in the financial hub of China, the two sides said in separate statements.
Shanghai Disneyland will cost US$3.59 billion, making it one of the largest-ever foreign investments in China.
The signing of the agreement comes amid broad concerns about the health of the global economy and as Disney continues to struggle with its five-year-old Hong Kong theme park.
The Shanghai Municipal Government said Disney signed the agreement with Shanghai Shendi Group Co., a company set up Friday to oversee the development of the theme park.
We can confirm the statement from the Shanghai Municipal Government that we ve taken another step forward in the approval process, Disney said in a statement.
We are still awaiting final approval from the Central Government on the incorporation of the related joint venture companies and the completion of the necessary regulatory processes, and we will not have any further comment at this time, it said.
The Shanghai theme park will be Disney s fourth outside the United States, after those in Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Xinhua previously reported that Shanghai Disneyland will occupy 116 hectares and have both Chinese and U.S. companies as investors.
The State Council, China s Cabinet, approved the project in November 2009 and it is expected to be completed by 2014, according to domestic media reports.
Disney has long sought to open a theme park on the Chinese mainland to gain access to the vast Chinese market.
The lack of a Chinese-language Disney television channel has hurt Hong Kong Disneyland, which has struggled since it first opened in 2005 with subpar attendance and complaints that it is too small. (SD-Agencies)
