Walt Disney Co and Hong Kong have reached a deal to expand the territory’s Disneyland at a cost of nearly US$465 million in hopes of boosting the theme park’s fortunes, officials announced yesterday.
The deal will see the American entertainment giant invest all the necessary new capital to pay construction and operation costs during the building phases.
In the works for two years, the expansion plan is part of an effort to turn around the park after its disappointing attendance in its first two years of operation. Hong Kong’s government is also keen to enhance the park ahead of the possible opening of a Disneyland in Shanghai in the coming years that would siphon off Chinese tourists.
PHOTO: AFP
“The expansion will be a catalyst to the park’s long-term development and bring benefits to not just the local tourism industry, but also the entire economy,” said Rita Lau (劉吳惠蘭), Hong Kong’s commerce and economic development secretary.
The park, a joint venture between Walt Disney and the Hong Kong government that opened in 2005, will get three new theme areas, as well as 30 new attractions.
Under terms of the deal, the Burbank, California-based media company will also convert into equity about US$350 million in loans to the venture to help with funding and will keep open a credit facility of about US$40 million.
Hong Kong, which shouldered much of the US$3.5 billion original construction cost, will not add any new capital, the government said.
“Disney is making a substantial investment in this important project,” said Leslie Goodman, a Disney vice president.
The park came under fire after disappointing attendance in its first two years of operation, but traffic in its third year grew 8 percent, figures provided by the Hong Kong government showed.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the