China’s Shaolin monks plan deal with travel company; reports say will list shares

China’s Shaolin monks plan deal with travel co.

SHANGHAI — The famed fighting monks of China’s Shaolin Temple next plan to tackle modern finance.

The local government entity in charge of managing the 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple’s tourism-related assets has agreed to cooperate with China Travel Service, a spokeswoman for the state-owned company said.

News reports said the venture would seek to raise up to 1 billion yuan ($146.4 million) by listing shares on either a mainland or Hong Kong index.

The Dongfeng government in central Henan province where the temple is located confirmed it was negotiating with China Travel Service on tourism cooperation but denied reports of a stock offering.

“We are against being listed and this attitude will never change,” Qian Daliang, head of the intellectual property and intangible assets management center of Shaolin Temple, told the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

China Travel Service (Holdings) Ltd., based in Hong Kong, did not comment on the report of a possible listing. It would issue an announcement later, said the company’s spokeswoman, who 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 centered 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 ($14.6 million) for a 51 percent 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.

Associated Press researcher Ji Chen contributed to this report.