Hongkong Land and Merlin Entertainments Plc Deepen China Partnership

HONG KONG, Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hongkong Land, Asia's premier property developer, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Merlin Entertainments Plc, the world's second largest visitor attraction operator, in a strategic partnership to bring more engaging leisure and retail experiences to China.  The two companies have agreed to communicate regularly regarding their development agendas in China and actively explore opportunities to make Merlin's world-famous entertainment brands a core component of Hongkong Land's current and future property projects in the country. 

Officiating at the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding were (front left) Mr Raymond Wong, Head of Projects, China Residential Property of Hongkong Land, and (front right) Mr Barry Cox, Director of New Business Development in Asia, Merlin Entertainments Plc. Witnesses of the signing were (second row, from right to left) Mr Kong Jian Tao, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of KWG Property Holding Limited; Mr Hugo Swire, Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom; Lord James Sassoon, Director of Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited; and Mr Joe Kwok, President, China Residential Property of Hongkong Land.

Prior to the signing of the MoU, the two companies signed two letters of intent in March 2013 for numerous collaborations in Chongqing, China -- one was to establish Merlin's internationally-renowned celebrity waxworks, Madame Tussauds, and a SEA LIFE aquarium attraction at Hongkong Land's Landmark Riverside; the other was to build a LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Merlin's unique indoor attraction for young children, at Yorkville, Hongkong Land's first wholly-owned mixed-use development in the country.  Signing the MoU heralds an even closer partnership between the two companies as they seek out new opportunities in the rapidly evolving China market. 

The signing of the MoU took place in the presence of Mr Hugo Swire, Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, who was in Chengdu during British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Hongkong Land's WE City project earlier this month. 

"Hongkong Land is very pleased to enter into this alliance with Merlin Entertainments, a company with an unsurpassed global reputation for excellence in entertainment," said Mr Y K Pang, Hongkong Land's Chief Executive. "Our partnership will redefine lifestyle experiences for the local communities and contribute to the social and economic development in leading cities in the country."

Merlin's Chief Executive, Mr Nick Varney, agreed, "Hongkong Land's commitment to bringing the people of China a dynamic leisure and retail experience of global standards echos Merlin's own strategy for the region.  We believe that makes us Hongkong Land's perfect partner.  Merlin has a wealth of experience and expertise in creating and operating high quality attraction brands worldwide.  We have already proven that the addition of our iconic brands to a retail development drives business, but we also believe that it will add a new dimension to the strategic development of the leisure and retail market in China."