14 Oct 2014
Universal Studios makes leap into China with plans for US$3.3bn theme park
BY Tom Anstey
Universal Studios has finally confirmed plans to open a US$3.3bn (€2.6bn, £2bn) theme park in China after more than a decade of attempting to enter the market.
The park, to be located in Beijing, will be designed in-part by film director Steven Spielberg and is being developed in partnership with local state firm Beijing Tourism Group.
More than 60 theme parks are now under development in China – including parks from Disney, Dreamworks and Merlin – with IAAPA CEO and president, Paul Nolan, recently calling the region “the fastest growing market in the world.”
The company did not reveal an opening date for the park, though reports say the launch will be around 2019.
Growth in China’s media and entertainment market is expected to more than double from 2013’s figures to around US$148bn (€117bn, £93bn) by 2015, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Universal Studios has been seeking opportunities to enter the Chinese market since 2001, although past attempts have not been a great success.
Both Beijing and Shanghai entered advanced negotiations with the company, with those deals progressing as far as setting up preparatory groups and reserving sites for the project.
The Shanghai negotiations fell through in 2012 when the local company coordinating the project listed itself for sale on the stock market.
Universal Studios then reportedly signed a deal with the Zhuhai government in China to invest CN¥15bn (US$2.43bn, €1.81bn, £1.44bn) in a city theme park, though Universal has still not yet given any official confirmation on that project.
Demolition of existing structures and site clearing on the Beijing site have already begun, with a goal of opening the park in 2019. The park will be the company’s fourth in Asia, following the well-established sites in Japan and Singapore and the forthcoming Universal Studios park in South Korea.
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