Film and TV production complex Iskandar Malaysia Studios (IMS) was recently valued at RM32 million, eight years since it was opened after an investment of between RM528 million and RM748 million.
This was revealed by American entertainment news site Variety which recently reported that Singaporean content provider GHY Culture & Media acquired IMS for a total of RM35.34 million.
“The valuation compares very badly with the cost to the Malaysian taxpayer.
“Even using the lower construction cost figure, the devaluation of an asset from US$120 million to US$7.3 million represents a more than 90 percent destruction of shareholders’ value in the eight years since IMS opened,” Variety reported.
It noted that the annual profit and loss accounts of IMS are not public information.
IMS is a studio complex that spans 49 acres (19.8 hectares) in Iskandar Puteri, Johor. It holds film stages, television studios, water filming tanks, and production support facilities, among others.
A number of notable productions were filmed at IMS, including Netflix’s Marco Polo series and portions of the film Crazy Rich Asians.
The IMS project was the result of a strategic agreement between the government’s investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the UK’s Pinewood Studios group.
Variety also reported that major Hollywood films have not been persuaded to use IMS as their core facility thus far.
“Nobody in Hollywood wants to shoot in Malaysia,” a location manager was reported as saying.
Other reasons reported by Variety include the studio’s location, perceived to be isolated from major film production hubs and its still underdeveloped local crews.
Production costs in Malaysia have also been reported to be higher than those in Thailand and Indonesia, although lower than in Singapore. - Mkini
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