China’s Haichang Ocean Park gets support from Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund to build marine themed park in kingdom

Agreement marks ‘significant progress in the group’s benchmark project for going global,’ says Haichang boss
Under an agreement signed in April, Haichang will develop water parks, zoos and safari parks in various Saudi cities

Saudi Arabia

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 2:27pm, 15 Dec 2023

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The owner of Asia’s biggest ocean park has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund (TDF) that will pave the way for the funding of a new marine themed park that forms part of the kingdom’s drive to boost tourism.

Hong Kong-listed Haichang Ocean Park, which operates six parks in mainland China, inked a non-binding agreement with the TDF, according to a filing with the Hong Kong exchange on Friday.

In April, Haichang signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Riyadh that clinched a deal for it to become the first ocean park brand and service industry provider from China to enter the Saudi Arabia.

“The board is of the view that the cooperation marks significant progress in the group’s benchmark project for ‘going global’ … and is of strategic significance in the company’s internationalisation process,” said Qu Naijie, executive director and chief executive officer of Haichang.

“The cooperation will integrate the advantageous resources of both parties and help the group to establish an international brand, and to build a worldwide leisure and entertainment platform featuring marine culture.”

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Chinese water park swamped with tourists

TDF, which was established in 2020 and has capital of US$4 billion, will help to identify potential sites for the project, which is part of the kingdom’s vision to attract 100 million visitors by 2030 and to boost the tourism sector’s contribution to the economy to 10 per cent.

The agency’s stated aim is to facilitate local and international investors’ access to tourism investments across key destinations in Saudi Arabia.

“Acting as the development manager of the project, we aim to pioneer the development of a world-class, first of its kind, integrated marine theme park resort in Saudi Arabia, which will become a fully integrated destination,” Qu said in the filing.

Under the agreement signed in April, Haichang will develop various forms of entertainment venues, such as family entertainment centres, water parks, IP themed parks, zoos and safari parks in various Saudi cities, creating jobs in the process.

Ocean parks typically have venues for animal performances, and other recreational facilities.

It is envisioned that the new Saudi park will become a platform to promote ocean conservation, Haichang said.

Haichang owns and operates parks in the mainland Chinese cities of Dalian, Qingdao, Chongqing, Chengdu, Tianjin, Wuhan and Yantai. It has also licensed its brand to four other parks.

The group is also developing a network of Aquarium and Discovery Centres in China, aiming to have 50 venues by the end of the year.

It reported an overall gross profit of about 202.9 million yuan (US$28.4 million) in the first half of the year, higher by 27.1 per cent than the same period in 2022, according to its latest financial report.

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