U Can Buy Shaolin Soon! ...

[po2wq]

Dec 17, 2009
Shaolin monks plan listing

Shaolin, its monks and their distinctive form of kung fu have developed into a lucrative business enterprise, raising controversy among some who disapprove of the commercialism of the temple's business-savvy abbot, Shi Yongxin.

SHANGHAI - The famed fighting monks of China's Shaolin Temple plan a foray into modern finance. The local government entity in charge of managing the 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple's tourism-related assets plan to join with China Travel Service in a venture that will seek to raise up to 1 billion yuan (S$205.2 million) in a share listing on either a mainland market or in Hong Kong, reports said on Thursday.

A spokesman for state-owned China Travel Service (Holdings) Ltd in Hong Kong confirmed that the two sides have agreed on cooperation and said her company would be issuing an announcement later. Like many Chinese, she gave only her surname, Zhang.

Shaolin, its monks and their distinctive form of kung fu have developed into a lucrative business enterprise, raising controversy among some who disapprove of the commercialism of the temple's business-savvy abbot, Shi Yongxin.

Since taking over as abbot in the 1990s, Shi has moved aggressively to promote and protect the Shaolin brand, threatening to sue companies that use the temple's name or image without permission and serving as executive producer for martial arts films centred on the temple.

He also has sought to upgrade temple facilities - installing lavish visitor restrooms equipped with uniformed cleaners and TVs that brought still more criticism. The Shanghai-based newspaper Oriental Morning Post and other reports said the temple itself was not part of the negotiations between Dengfeng and China Travel Service.

That deal calls for China Travel Service to invest 100 million yuan for a 51 per cent stake in a venture under the Shaolin brand name that will handle sale of admission tickets, operate its cable car, cinemas, hotels and tourist bus services in Dengfeng, the state-run newspaper China Daily reported. -- AP

 

[Alamaking]

I was in Hainan with a tour and we were taken to Wuzhi Shan (Mountain) where there are temples, a monk showed us the area and try to split me and my parents apart, they brought my parents to a room and tried to convince them to buy a pair of buddha statues for USD$2,000, for ping an (peace) in the family.

My father said not enough cash and they said they accept credit card, knn.... My father scolded them and left. :oIo::oIo::oIo:

These type of china monks really damn fucked up.

Kinda reminds me of Durai and Ming Yi, hahaha...

 

[NoNewsGood]

Fake monks.

 

[Microsoft]

Maybe a goot idea 2 turn shaolin temple into casino n IR... Monk can becum hor lee... KNN lidat how 2 win moni frm them...

 

[boundThunter]

No Sale,
Shaolin is not for sale.
Just another Mainstream-media lie to boost up readership.


The commercialism of Shaolin is frowned upon by some as it goes against the spirit of Buddhism.


BEIJING, Dec 19 — The local government in charge of China’s famous Shaolin Temple has denied a report that it is pushing the fabled monastery to offer shares in a public company in 2011, a plan opposed by the temple’s martial artist monks.

Shaolin, immortalised in countless martial arts films, has become a high-profile commercial entity in recent years, profiting handsomely from visits by millions of tourists as well as international stage shows, film production and even e-stores.

But many thought commercialisation had gone too far with the initial public offering (IPO) plan, reported by the Oriental Morning Post on Wednesday.

The city of Dengfeng, in Henan province, had signed a deal with Hong Kong-listed China Travel International to set up Shaolin Culture and Tourism and list it in 2011, the paper said, citing documents that have not been made public.

“The report about Shaolin Temple’s IPO and ‘selling state assets at a low price’ is absolutely untrue,” the government of Dengfeng, where the temple is based, said in a statement on Xinhua news agency’s website.

Dengfeng acknowledged that it was negotiating with China Travel International on a new tourism joint venture in the Songshan mountains, home to the Shaolin Temple, but said no formal agreement had been made.

‘Sixteen cultural relics at national and provincial levels, including the Shaolin Temple, in the area will not be managed by the new joint venture,’ it said in the statement.

Heywood Ho, the general manager of China Travel International’s investment department, confirmed negotiations with Dengfeng but added: “We have not signed any definitive agreement...It is premature to say anything about the deal.”

The Oriental Morning Post’s report said the Dengfeng city government transferred the rights to temple ticket revenues valued at 49 million yuan (RM34 million) in return for 49 per cent ownership in the new company.

Shaolin has developed into a lucrative business enterprise, raising controversy among some who disapprove of the commercialism of the temple’s business-savvy abbot, Shi Yongxin.

Since taking over as abbot in the 1990s, he has moved aggressively to promote and protect the Shaolin brand, threatening to sue companies that use the temple’s name or image without permission and serving as executive producer for martial arts films centred on the temple.
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Its Hong Kong branch has urged the local government to allow construction of a Shaolin theme park in the former British colony.

However, the abbot had told a Hong Kong newspaper last year
that an IPO would be against the spirit of Buddhism. — Neuters(news services for the dickless):oIo:



http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/46988-report-of-shaolin-temple-ipo-untrue