Mr Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer of Walt Disney, denied earlier reports that the company planned to open a park in Beijing in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.

However, he admitted it was in constant talks with officials in Beijing and Shanghai and said a theme park in the mainland was feasible because of the size of the Chinese market.

Mr Eisner was speaking after attending the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce's 140th anniversary luncheon on Thursday, where he spoke about HK$22 billion Disneyland project, due for completion in 2005. He arrived in Hong Kong after visiting Beijing and several mainland theme parks with top Disney executives.

The group also visited Ocean Park and the Disneyland reclamation site at Penny's Bay.

"I'm sure some day there will be a possibility to build another Disney theme park on the mainland that would be geographically so distant from Hong Kong that they will not compete," Mr Eisner said. "There is additional market on the mainland that could support a Disneyland not at all competitive to Hong Kong."

Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, head of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said a mainland Disneyland would have little impact on a Hong Kong theme park.

"I believe the Hong Kong Disneyland would still be attractive to tourists, even if a second theme park is to be built on the mainland," she said.

Mr Eisner said about 90 per cent of visitors to Tokyo Disneyland were from areas around Tokyo, while the two Disney theme parks in the United States co-existed and catered for different markets.

Dismissing the mainland reports about a Beijing Disneyland in time for the Olympics as "erroneous", Mr Eisner said: "There is no pending announcement to make. Our job now is to get Hong Kong's theme park working, get it built, and make it a success."

He added that Hong Kong would be a "major regional hub of Disney magic" from which new products and ideas would be developed. Apart from the theme park, the Disney company plans to launch a new cellphone service called Disney Mobile in Hong Kong. The firm is also considering a local Disney television channel, he said.

Hong Kong is Disney's second Asian location. Tokyo DisneySea, which follows Tokyo Disneyland, opens next week. Hong Kong beat Shanghai and Zhuhai in 1998 to the right to house China's first Disneyland.

The theme park is expected to draw 1.5 million visitors in its first year, creating 18,000 jobs and generating HK$148 billion in economic benefits over 40 years.

At a reception greeting the Disney executives last night, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said the park would play a key role in boosting tourism and providing jobs. He said the project had made much progress since the deal was sealed 20 months ago.

(Xinhua News Agency 08/30/2001)