Platinum Cineplex, the biggest cinema operator by screen in Ha Noi, will be forced to cease operations at three Vingroup trading centres on Friday ahead of an expiration date agreed in the lease with Viet Nam’s largest real estate company.

The three cinema complexes with a total 28 screens include Platinum Royal City in Thanh Xuan District, Platinum Times City in Hai Ba Trung District and Platinum Long Bien in Gia Lam District. 

As reported by local media, on Monday, after months of negotiations, the M.V.P Group from Indonesia – founder of the Platinum Cineplex – was told by Vingroup to remove its equipment from the centres and returning the spaces to the group on Friday.

The three cinema complexes with a total 28 screens include Platinum Royal City in Thanh Xuan District, Platinum Times City in Hai Ba Trung District and Platinum Long Bien in Gia Lam District.

The first Platinum cineplex in Ha Noi made debut in 2011. The contract signed with the Vingroup was set to last for 15 years.

Explaining the reason for terminating the contract ahead of schedule, Tran Mai Hoa, general director of the Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company – a subsidiary of the Vingroup – told Zing.vn that it was a simple business deal.

“The reason is that the two sides failed to reach agreement for further co-operation,” she said.

“After several years of operation, Platinum has not had proper investment so its service quality no longer meets the criteria of our trading centres. Therefore, the co-operation between us cannot be continued.”

The poor service has negatively affected the operation of Vingroup’s trading centres, Hoa said, adding that several meetings had been held to discuss the issue, but until the middle of 2016, no action was taken to improve the situation.

M.V.P also delayed payments, leading to large debt, the Vingroup representative said. At one point, Platinum’s debt amounted to several billion dong. The debt is still not settled.

“We have to consider carefully and make a decision in compliance with legal regulations and contract clauses and take into account the benefits of both sides,” she said.

Hoa affirmed that her company had sufficient legal foundation for lawsuits if the issue was taken to court. However, she said Vingroup hoped the problem would be solved peacefully in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.

Hoa said that Vingroup would compensate M.V.P satisfactorily but denied to disclose the amount of compensation.

She denied local media reports that removing equipment from the three centres cost US$25 million.

Vingroup was seeking other partners to replace Platinum, Hoa said.

Viet Nam News was unable to contact representatives of Platinum Complex in Ha Noi for comment.

Yesterday afternoon, the Platinum Cineplex’s website did not provide show time in the next three days for moviegoers to book tickets at the three cinemas as usual.

The information is only available at the Platinum The Garden in Ha Noi’s Nam Tu Liem District and the Platinum Nha Trang in the south central coastal Nha Trang City. 

VNS