Malaysian construction firm UEM World has insisted it is in talks with Disney to build a theme park in the country's south, despite the US firm's denials, according to a report today.

"We are talking to more than four parties, including the big one that we are being speculated with (Disney)," UEM World's chief executive Ahmad Pardas Senin said according to the Star newspaper.

"It will take some time (for the talks to conclude) because we have to talk from the commercial and financial standpoints," he said.

Asked if UEM World was in talks with Disney Tokyo or the US-based parent company, Ahmad Pardas said there were discussions going on at various levels.

"You start by talking with the party closest to you and then move to the epicenter," he said in the report.

Last month, Disney denied it was involved in negotiations and said it had no plans for a Disney-branded resort development in Malaysia.

Competing with Singapore

The theme park is planned to take up about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of Nusajaya, a UEM World township project in the southern state of Johor which lies next to Singapore.

A Disney park would be a major boost for the tourism industry in Malaysia, which competes with Singapore to attract visitors.

Malaysia is keen to attract tourists to Johor after Singapore announced plans for two casino-based resorts after the city-state dropped a ban on gambling.

Malaysia counts tourism as its second-largest foreign exchange earner and is hoping for a record 20 million arrivals next year, up from 15.7 million in 2004.