Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. denied a newspaper report saying the Chinese government gave approval for the company to build a theme park in Shanghai.

“There is no announcement and there is no deal,” Alannah Hall-Smith, Hong Kong-based Disney spokeswoman for Asia, said in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg News. China is an “important market” for the entertainment company, she added.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission gave approval for Disney to set up a theme park in Shanghai ahead of a final agreement between the U.S. company and the city’s municipal government, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today, citing people it didn’t identify.

“We have continuing discussions with the Chinese government about a variety of Disney initiatives, from community programs to business operations including television, motion pictures and consumer products, of which theme parks are only a part,” Hall- Smith said. Calls put through to the regulator seeking comment on the report went unanswered.

A group of top executives from Disney is scheduled to visit China this month and negotiations over details of the agreement for the theme park have reached their final stages, the Post said.

The planned park will be built in several stages and completed in five years, the newspaper added, citing an unidentified person close to the Shanghai municipal government.

The park would be situated in Shanghai’s Huanglou district, about 10 minutes by car from Pudong international airport, Shanghai Securities News said Nov. 20, citing an unidentified expert carrying out a feasibility study on the project.

Negotiations on the project are continuing, the Xinhua News Agency-affiliated newspaper said.

To contact the reporter for this story: Stephanie Wong in Shanghai at swong139@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 1, 2008 21:48 EST