Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Chinese language - Investors still keen to ride theme park craze

BIZCHINA / Center

Investors still keen to ride theme park craze
By Zhou Weirong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-25 08:59

It seems simple enough. As their wallets start to bulge more and more,
the 1.3 billion Chinese need a place to go for entertainment  a theme
park.

That goes some way to explaining the current investment craze in hundreds
of themed amusement parks across the country.

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and
Attractions (IAAPA), a new wave of investments in China's theme parks is
on the way, as the following five years are expected to be rosy for
China's amusement parks and attractions industry.

There are now at least 2,000 theme parks in China, although the industry
only started about 20 years ago. Most such parks were co-invested by the
government and private sectors and were built up in economically
developed regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, the Yangtze River Delta and
the Pearl River Delta.

Domestic investors are planning a number of new parks in the country. For
example, the historic town of Zhouzhuang on the outskirts of Shanghai is
planning a US$40-million park with 5,000 years of Chinese culture as its
theme. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2006 and is
expected to take at least one year.

Meanwhile, the central government has mapped out a plan to spend heavily
in the Shenzhen area to improve the existing parks so that they
complement nearby Hong Kong Disneyland. The government hopes to market
the region as a destination called the "Golden Coast," which would
feature hotels and activities to keep visitors entertained for several
days.

Foreign investors are also vying to inject billions of dollars into
building up new theme parks across the country.

A joint venture between Shenzhen Sanguo Culture City Industrial
Development Co Ltd and Canada-based Bedford International Financial Group
is planning a US$3-billion park called China Today on Shenzhen's eastern
shore, to be based on the legend of the third-century Three Kingdoms. The
park is expected to open in 2010.

US-based Walt Disney is negotiating with Shanghai's municipal government
to build a theme park in the city's Nanhui District, to open in 2010,
coinciding with the city's World Expo 2010. Shanghai's Jinjiang Park is
also talking with US company Triple Five about a project to expand and
reinvent the park, according to IAAPA officials.

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