DISNEY - INITIAL PLANS APPROVED FOR SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND

INITIAL PLANS APPROVED FOR SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND

After nearly a decade of on-again, off-again negotiations, the Walt Disney Co. and the municipal government of Shanghai have settled on a plan to create a $3.59-billion Disneyland-type theme park in the model city, the Chinese government confirmed early today (Wednesday). "China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for the Walt Disney Co. in mainland China," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement. Some analysts also observed that the theme park would also clear the way for Disney to set up a kind of Chinese command center on mainland China where its executives and staff could importune Chinese officials to relax their tight control over the distribution of foreign movies.

04/11/2009