MORE OUTLETS OUTSIDE BANGKOK: SF CINEMA
SF Cinema City Co Ltd, one of the Thailand’s big-three multiplex
theater operators, has announced plans to invest at least Bt2 billion
(US$48 million) over three years to expand its theatre outlets, especially
outside Bangkok.
The company is expected to list on the stock market by the end of
the year to mobilize funds for future expansion and loan repayment.
It plans to invest in "two or three" major projects over
the next three years, including stand-alone theater complexes. In
addition to a joint venture in a Phuket multiplex theatre, the company
is also negotiating with a Chiang Mai film distributor to open a multiplex
there.
Meanwhile, SF Cinema opened its seventh SFX Cinema at The Emporium
recently. With an investment of Bt200 million, the complex has five
multiplex ÒboutiqueÓ theaters with a total of 1,200 seats.
The company would also open a multiplex at Central Festival Phuket
in the second quarter of next year. At an investment of Bt250 million,
the Phuket complex will have six or seven theaters, a 24-lane bowling
alley and a karaoke center.
Sources say Phuket project would be a joint venture between SF Cinema
City, which would control management, and Coliseum, the local film
distributor in the southern provinces.
The company is reportedly negotiating with Thana Cineplex to open
an SF Cinema complex in Chiang Mai.
In Bangkok, SF Cinema plans to undertake major renovations of its
theater complex at the Mah Boonkrong shopping complex, which has been
operating for four years and was the first of its kind in Thailand.
Work will start in the middle of the year and require a total investment
of between Bt150 million and Bt200 million. |
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