As Malaysia’s Hollywood dreams crumble with Iskandar studios sale, a Singapore firm swoops in

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund sold its stake in Iskandar Malaysia Studios to a Singapore-based media firm for a fraction of its initial investment

Insiders say the state-of-the-art facilities were hamstrung by their location – and the country’s unhelpful attitudes towards its creative industries

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Iskandar Malaysia Studios. Singapore-based media company GHY Culture & Media Holding Co has snapped up the complex for US$7.3 million – a steal compared to the US$120 million that was pumped into it. Photo: Facebook/Iskandar Malaysia Studios

Published: 9:30am, 16 Apr 2023Updated: 9:52am, 16 Apr 2023

When Malaysia unveiled Pinewood Iskandar Studios nearly nine years ago, it was touted as the most advanced facility of its kind in Southeast Asia.

On a visit to the 20-hectare (50-acre) complex a few years after it had opened, local filmmaker Zain Azrai marvelled at the “giant studios” that were “on the same level as the ones in England”.

Pinewood Group, which runs the famed British film and television studios that Zain was referring to, developed the facility in Iskandar Puteri with the Malaysian government’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

The studios went on to serve as a set for Netflix’s 2014 historical epic series Marco Polo and portions of the 2017 hit film Crazy Rich Asians, before Pinewood pulled out in 2019 after the complex began struggling to attract productions to use its massive facilities.

The studios in Nusajaya were known as Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios before a rebranding in 2019. Photo: AFP

“The infrastructure was amazing,” Zain said while recounting his 2017 tour of the site, which he nevertheless found to be strangely deserted. “They were telling me that the studio was open to the local players, and they have packages that were affordable for the local industry … but the thing is, for some reason, they didn’t market it.”