3 Apr – When 1 April reared its head this year, most would per norm have April Fools' pranks in their mind. Not for Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), as the day marks the film exhibitor and distributor's third decade in the film industry. GSC recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a grand bash, held on 31 March at the Nexus Connexion Grand Ballroom in Bangsar South, attended by the company's employees and key industry players. "The last three decades were not without its challenges, and tough ones they were too," said GSC CEO Ms. Koh Mei Lee during her welcome speech at the event.
She went on to thank both GSC's business associates and customers for their support throughout the year, adding, "During good times and especially when we are awarded recognition by the industry, we are motivated to continually push the boundaries beyond the moviegoers' expectations." Apart from celebrating the company's milestone, GSC also celebrated its loyal employees during the night's Long Serving Awards Ceremony. Ms. Koh was joined by GSC Chairman General (R) Tan Sri Dato' Mohd Ghazali Seth to honour the employees with golden plaques.
GSC was started in 1987 to take over the operations of Shaw Brothers' standalone cinemas and later merged with Cathay Organisation. The wholly owned subsidiary of PPB Group (a member of the Kuok Group) operates a total of 305 screens in 33 locations across Malaysia and, through a partnership with Galaxy Studio, 43 screens in 7 locations in Vietnam. The numbers for Vietnam will soon grow as another 6 new cinemas are planned to be opened this year, while Cambodia will open its first GSC location and Malaysia will get another 3 cinemas also by this year.