JOHOR BARU – Before being sold for pennies on the dollar to Singaporean production company G.H.Y. Culture & Media Holding Co Ltd, Iskandar Malaysia Studios Sdn Bhd’s (IMS) 2019 financial report revealed that it received RM250 million in government grants.
Prepared by auditors Ernst & Young PLT, the 2019 financial report also mentioned that IMS saw a net loss of RM23.33 million.
Meanwhile, IMS’ accumulated losses amounted to RM306.3 million, while net current liabilities were stated as RM3.067 million.
Despite the staggering losses, the “going concern assumption” was used in the financial report for IMS.
“Going concern” is the assumption that a company is financially stable enough to stay in business for the long term.
“The appropriateness of the going concern assumption used in the preparation of the financial statements is dependent on the continued financial support from the holding company,” the financial report said.
IMS’ holding company is Granatum Ventures Sdn Bhd which is itself a subsidiary of Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
Meanwhile, with regard to government grants, the financial report reveals that IMS obtained funds from the Strategic Iskandar Fund (SIF) and a grant from the Public-Private Cooperation Unit (Ukas) of the Prime Minister’s Department.
IMS received RM100 million from the SIF and RM150 million from Ukas.
“The SIF grant amounting to RM100 million has been fully received and amortised in the previous financial years.
“The Ukas grant amounting to RM150 million is for the purpose of compensating the company for the cost of eligible capital expenditure.
“A cumulative final claim amount of RM138,616,124 was received at the end of the financial year ended December 31, 2014.
“No further disbursements are expected to be received under the Ukas grant,” the report said.
Khazanah’s 2019 financial report makes reference to the SIF, explaining that the grant was given to compensate the company for operating expenses incurred.
IMS was formerly called Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios (PIMS) after the Pinewood Group entered into a partnership with the studio complex.
It is believed, according to a report by Hollywood trade magazine Variety yesterday, PIMS’ construction cost was valued at RM528 million, while the total investment injected into the project was estimated to be RM748 million.
Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali, PIMS’ former director, said in 2014 that the studio was expected to contribute RM1.8 billion to the local economy.
However, in 2019 Pinewood left the partnership, with a joint statement issued stating the collaboration ended through a mutual agreement.
Further, this month, it was reported that IMS was sold to Singaporean content producer G.H.Y Culture & Media for RM32 million. – The Vibes, April 9, 2023
