Pyramid Saimira signs JV with AII, Malaysia

New Delhi, Feb 11: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has announced a tie-up with Malaysia-based Asian Integrated Industries to set up a theatre chain in the country with 150 multiplexes and single screen theatres with an investment of Rs 240 crore.

The new joint venture (JV) will be called as 'Pyramid Saimira Entertainment Malaysia Sdn Bhd', in which both the companies will hold 50 per cent stake.

The JV will be operating 10 multiplexes by March 2007, and the goal is likely to be achieved in the next 2-3 years, a company statement said.

Under the partnership Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, Chinese and Hollywood films and other contents across Malaysia will be distributed on theatres, DVD, DTH and other modes.

The new JV will create an ecosystem for local Malay, Tamil and Chinese film production using local talents and to be a catalyst in distributing the same both inside Malaysia and outside Malaysia, it added.

The current exhibition market of Malaysia is estimated at Rs 600 crore and is growing at the rate of 20 per cent annually.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre will also provide the back-end resources to the JV for digital display of contents in Malaysia by leveraging its domain expertise and infrastructure currently being established in India.

It will also try to exploit all the upcoming community centres in Malaysia by operating theatres as well as convention halls with video conferencing and family entertainment.

UNI