Film studio privatisation under scrutiny

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình on Monday directed the Government inspectorate to begin a two-month inspection of the privatisation process of State-owned Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam Feature Film Development and Investment JSC -- the name of the studio post-equitisation -- and from the Việt Nam Cinema Association about VFS’s problematic equitisation process. 

Equitisation of VFS was completed in June this year, with 20 per cent of its stake being held by the state, 65 per cent by investor Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVASO), five per cent by its employees and the remaining 15 per cent 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 Vũ Đức Đam held a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and representatives of the Việt Nam Cinema Association, Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVASO) and VFS to discuss the issue.

Đam 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. 

Việt Nam 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. — VNS