Behind the Knock-Down Sale of Iskandar Malaysia Studios
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief As recently as last month, government officials in the Malaysian state of Serawak, Borneo, told local media that their state needs to build a new film production facility like the Iskandar Malaysia Studios in the south of peninsular Malaysia.
Serawak officials said that their state Premier had visited the studios and plans had been discussed with FINAS, Malaysia’s national film regulatory and financing body.
The illusion of glittering success was shattered last week by an undramatic regulatory filing across the border in Singapore.
IMS had been sold to a foreign TV company for a tiny fraction of its construction cost. The sale appears to crystallize more than $100 million of losses.GHY Culture & Media, a Singaporean company specializing in Chinese-language content, announced that it had bought an 80% stake in SMS, an intermediary company, for $2 million (RM8.84 million).
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