Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Universal Studios, owned by General Electric Co., and partners will build a $3.1 billion theme park in South Korea, its third resort in Asia, the nation's Gyeonggi provincial government said.

The resort, to be built in partnership with Posco Engineering & Construction Co., will be located near Hwaseong, south of Seoul, and open in 2012, the provincial government said in a statement today.

The development will join Universal parks in the Japanese city of Osaka and a planned resort in Singapore. Entertainment and gambling companies, including Walt Disney Co. and Las Vegas Sands Corp., have expanded in Asia to take advantage of rising disposable incomes.

``Building theme parks is a trend that Korea needs to follow, like Hong Kong and Singapore, to attract more foreign tourists,'' said Park Se Jin, an analyst who covers the leisure and hotel industry at Mirae Asset Securities Co. in Seoul. ``This may help tourism contribute more to Korea's economic growth.''

Korea Development Bank, Shinhan Bank and Korea Investment & Securities Co. are partners in the project, the provincial government said, without providing details of the financial contribution of each party.

Universal follows Viacom Inc.'s Paramount unit in planning a theme park in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Paramount and Daewoo Motors Sales Corp. plan to open a $1 billion theme park in the western city of Incheon, Daewoo said in May.

Universal aims to attract 10 million visitors a year to the Korean park, according to the government statement. The project will also include hotels, a golf course and a shopping mall.

Tourism Increase

International visitors to South Korea rose 3.8 percent to 5.3 million in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Visitors from China in the period rose 16 percent from a year earlier to about 885,000.

``This is the right time'' for the theme park because of rising tourism from China, Frank P. Stanek, president of USK Property Holdings Co., said at a press conference in Seoul today. USK Property has the right to build the park in South Korea on behalf of Universal Parks & Resorts.

The park will compete for Chinese tourists with Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in September 2005.

The average monthly disposable income of South Korean households increased 7.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the National Statistical Office said this month.

Faster Growth

South Korea's economy grew 5.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the quickest rate since the first three months of 2006, on increased exports and a pickup in consumer spending.

Billionaire Warren Buffett last month said that Korea has a ``flourishing economy'' and that would help the stock market ``do as well over the next 10 years, not 10 weeks or 10 months but 10 years, as most markets,''

Universal Parks & Resorts, which also runs Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood, is also planning to build attractions in Dubai.

A Universal Studios park is included in Genting International Plc's plan for a gaming resort on Singapore's Sentosa island to open in 2010.

Las Vegas Sands was last year awarded a separate license by the government to operate a casino in Singapore.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Cho in Seoul at kcho2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 27, 2007 02:18 EST