Foreigners can Open Entertainment Venues in CN允许外国投资者依法在中国设立娱乐场所

《国务院关于修改和废止部分行政法规的决定》（国务院令第732号），将《娱乐场所管理条例》第六条修改为 “外国投资者可以依法在中国境内设立娱乐场所”，需要进一步明确设立条件和程序等相关要求。

Foreign investors are allowed to establish entertainment venues in China without investment restrictions or local partners, according to new legal amendments.

Previous rules required them to partner up to form joint ventures with local firms, as did Disney did to open its lucrative Shanghai Disneyland theme park and as Universal was obliged to do for its nearly completed theme park near Beijing.

The changes emerge from China’s State Council, the country’s top governing body, via an “amendment and repeal of certain administrative regulations,” and were announced via the country’s ministry of culture and tourism on Monday.

Regulations previously stipulated that foreign investors could only participate in the entertainment venue business via joint ventures or cooperation with local counterparts in which a Chinese party acted as the controlling shareholder. Now it states simply that “foreign investors may establish entertainment venues in China in accordance with the law.”

This change in wording appears to further formalize a previous 2019 legal amendment that in principle allowed foreign investors to wholly own cinemas. The new wording also broadens the policy out to all entertainment venues, not just movie theaters. The latest development marks the last step in the exhibition sector’s slow opening up to non-Chinese investors.

Before 2000, foreign investors were banned entirely from investing in cinemas. Policies relaxed from 2000 to 2003, when they were allowed to invest up to 49% equity in exhibition firms. There was then a trial period from 2004 to 2005 during which foreigners were allowed to invest up to 75% equity in seven pilot cities. That policy was abandoned, however, and foreigners could once again invest no more than 49% up until 2019.

Despite China’s booming movie market, investing in the country’s exhibition sector has not so far proved very attractive to foreign players, few of whom have dipped a toe in its waters. The ending of the 2004-05 experiment preceded the withdrawal from China of Warner Brothers International Theaters, which had opened a handful of complexes.

Wholly foreign-owned cinemas would still have to abide by China’s strict censorship rules, and would not be able to screen content without prior approval from government authorities.

如果您需要获得更多信息，请尽情联系我们，非常高兴能够为您提供帮助！

咨询顾问微信： 
solutionsmarketing

文章来源：

http://zwgk.mct.gov.cn/zfxxgkml/zcfg/zcjd/202105/t20210531_924882.html

Previous Article

Please scan the QR code below and follow our official WECHAT account for future news and business policies.

扫描下方二维码关注斯路森，我们为您提供最快最全面的国际贸易资讯。

发送简历到 [e-mail]