Film studio equitisation under scrutiny

Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has directed the Government inspectorate to begin a two-month inspection of the privatisation process of State-owned Vietnam Feature Film (VFS) studio.

The results of the inspection must be reported to the Government before December 1.

The request was made after the Government received petitions from employees of the Vietnam Feature Film Development and Investment JSC - the name of the studio post-equitisation - and from the Vietnam Cinema Association about VFS’s problematic equitisation process. 

Equitisation of VFS was completed in June this year, with 20 percent of its stake being held by the state, 65 percent by investor Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVASO), five percent by its employees and the remaining 15 percent by other investors.

However, just over two months since equitisation, many employees complained they had only received part of their salaries or had not yet been paid. 

They also claimed that their offices and studios had been leased to shops and businesses and were worried that the new management board, which was focusing on exploiting the company’s property instead of making films, would kill the company.

Previously, on September 21, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam held a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and representatives of the Vietnam Cinema Association, Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVASO) and VFS to discuss the issue.

Dam said it was necessary to make the equitisation process transparent, adding that he would report the situation to the Prime Minister and ask him on whether to investigate the equitisation process at the studio. 

The Vietnam Feature Film Studio was established in 1953 and has produced some 400 featured films and documentaries.

In 2010, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved the plan to equitise the studio.-VNA