Universal signs deal for its 3rd Asian resort

Universal Studios signed an agreement Tuesday to build a 3 trillion won theme park

RELATED ARTICLES

in South Korea, its third and largest in Asia, reviving a plan delayed for two years by lack of funding.

Financing was secured from Lotte Group of South Korea, operator of the retailer Lotte Shopping, and Posco, one of the world’s largest steel makers.

Construction by Posco Engineering & Construction is set to begin in 2011. A movie theme park, a water park and a resort, including a golf course and condominiums, are due to open in early 2014 in Hwaseong, near Seoul and the country’s main international airport in Incheon.

Plans for the $2.67 billion resort were first announced in November 2007. Universal has secured 15 partners, led by Lotte Asset Development, with a 26.7 percent stake, and Posco Engineering & Construction, with a 24.4 percent stake.

The project will create as many as 100,000 jobs, Kim Moon Soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, said Tuesday in Seoul.

The park in Korea will be bigger than all of Universal’s other parks combined, Mr. Kim said. Universal, which is set to be taken over by Comcast, has a park in Osaka, Japan, and is opening one in Singapore. It also has parks in Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

The new park is expected to attract 15 million visitors a year from South Korea and abroad.

Tom Williams, chief executive of Universal Parks & Resorts, declined to comment on how much Universal planned to invest in the project or on where else in Asia it was looking to build theme parks. (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AP)

EDITORIAL OF THE DAY

  • Peddling parity

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has continued with its efforts to make the stock markets more transparent.

FC NEWSLETTER

Stay informed on our latest news!

INTERVIEWS

Pravin Kumar Tayal

Former promoter

Girish Paranjpe

joint CEO, Wipro

RH Patil

Founder, National Stock Exchange

COLUMNIST

Praful Bidwai

Equity: the unaddressed agenda

Indian economists and policy makers have debated the relationship between ...

Parvez Imam

Women rise with sense of purpose

It was a tiny, unknown village, like thousands of others, ...

Nida Mahmood

Loud, bold but more mature punk is back

A few hours at a prominent college in Delhi gave ...