Disney says 2nd China park unlikely before 2010 - Reuters 07/08/05

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Article from Reuters - July 8, 2005
Disney says 2nd China park unlikely before 2010

HONG KONG, July 8 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday its immediate focus was to open the Hong Kong Disneyland, its first theme park in China, this year and it was unlikely to open a second park in China before 2010.

"If we were to reach an arrangement for a second park in China, in all likelihood it would not open before 2010," the company said in an e-mail response to Reuters.

A local newspaper reported on Friday that the U.S. entertainment giant was planning a joint venture to build and open a theme park in Shanghai's Pudong district before 2010.

Disney said it has a continuing dialogue with China about a variety of Disney initiatives, including television, motion pictures, consumer products and theme parks.

The company said in February that it was considering a theme park in Shanghai, but would first expand the Hong Kong park that is scheduled to open in September.

The park is expected to provide a major boost for Hong Kong's economy, which relies heavily on tourism, trade and financial services, but local officials have long worried that competition from another Disney park in China would make it less profitable.

The planned Shanghai park will cover an area of 6 square kilometres, four times the size of Disney's Hong Kong park, Wen Wei Po reported on Friday.

Disney will provide technology and capital for a 51-percent stake in a joint venture with Shanghai's government-backed Lujiazui Group company, which will contribute land near the Pudong International Airport, the newspaper said.

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