A holding company that will manage the tourism-related assets of the Shaolin Temple is likely to seek public funds for expansion before 2011, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported yesterday, without specifying where the firm would be listed.

The Dengfeng city government in Henan province, where the temple is located, recently signed a framework agreement with China Travel Service (HK) Ltd to invest 100 million yuan ($14.64 million) to establish the company under the Shaolin brand name, the newspaper said.

The planned venture is likely to raise 800 million to 1 billion yuan through various financing channels, including a public float before 2011, the newspaper reported.

The holding company will regulate the sale of admission tickets at the temple and also operate its cable car railway, movie theaters, hotels and tourist buses, according to the agreement.

The Hong Kong travel company will take a 51 percent stake in the venture while the Dengfeng government will own the rest, the paper said.

The temple itself was not involved in the negotiation process, the Oriental Morning Post reported, confirming the company plans from Dengfeng government officials.

"Abbot Shi Yongxin himself was not even aware of the deal until a few days ago and he knew nothing about the details of the negotiations," Qian Daliang, general manager of Henan Shaolin Temple Development Company, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Dubbed the "CEO monk", Shi Yongxin is a controversial figure, allegedly running the religious monastery in a business-oriented style.

Shi, 44, is the first Chinese Buddhist abbot with an MBA degree. He was criticized for allegedly accepting luxury gifts and constructing lavish restrooms worth $430,000 at the temple under his leadership.

Shi had said in an interview in August that the temple needed to realize the commercial value of its cultural heritage to support its development.

"The Shaolin Temple alone cannot support its everyday maintenance, the protection of historical relics and the life of our monks," Shi said. "So, we have to dig deep into the cultural value of the temple and to develop this culture industry."

The Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chinese kungfu and Zen Buddhism, has become a cash cow for the local government in recent years, fetching millions of yuan every year from tourism and commercial activity, including film production rights and an online store.

The temple, covering 30,000 sqm, drew 1.6 million tourists last year, generating 150 million yuan from the sale of entry tickets.

It also opened an online merchandise store - offering goods such as shoes, clothing, tea and kungfu manuals - on Taobao.com, China's biggest online retailer.

Industry experts said the likely share sale might boost the country's tourism sector as the government was encouraging the development of a consumption-driven economy.

Huangshan Tourism Development Co Ltd, a tourism company that runs businesses in the Huangshan Mountain area and Emei Shan Tourism Co Ltd, a Sichuan-based company that operates tourism resources on the Emei Mountain, are two travel companies that are currently listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen respectively.