Megastar Complex, the joint venture between EnvoyMedia Partners and Vietnam's Phuong Nam Corporation, has announced plans on thefirst two multiplexes in Vietnam, a bustling South-East Asian country whose populationof 82million is served by only 100 screens.

Envoy Media Partners is the joint venture between industry veteran J EdwardShugrue, Mekong Leisure and Asian Capital Partners. Phuong Nam is a leadingVietnamese publisher and publication retail operator. Shugrue and Phuong Nam'sdirector general Phan Thi Le are Megastar board members.

The first multiplex will be located at a mixed use retail and office centre atVinCom City Towers in central Hanoi. The centre may open as early as autumn andwill feature eight screens and 1,122 stadium seats, as well as two themedrestaurants, bars and rooftop terraces.

Hung Vuong Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City will feature nine screens and 1,560 seatsand is a mixed use retail and residential complex. The site is underconstruction.

Megastar also announced three key appointments. Lim Enghee has been namedgeneral manager, Khai Hoang becomes deputy general manager, and Gary Lam ischief financial officer. All three appointments are effective immediately.

"We expect these first two complexes to create a transformative impact on theentertainment market in Vietnam very quickly," Shugrue said. "They will beunlike anything the market has ever seen in its most recently constructed movietheatres."