Singapore Press Holdings

Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH; Chinese: 新加坡报业控股) is a Singaporean media organisation with businesses in print, digital, radio, and outdoor media, and property and aged care. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around the world. The company was one of the country's "blue-chip" counters on the Singapore Exchange, and was a constituent of the Straits Times Index until its removal on 22 June 2020.[2]

Singapore Press Holdings
Native name
新加坡报业控股
TypePublic company
SGX: T39
IndustryPublishing, mass media
Founded4 August 1984 (1984-08-04)
HeadquartersToa Payoh, Singapore
Key people
Dr Lee Boon Yang (chairman)
Ng Yat Chung (CEO)
Anthony Tan (Deputy CEO)[1]
ProductsPublications
Websitewww.sph.com.sg

SPH is publicly listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX).

History

Singapore Press Holdings Limited was formed on 4 August 1984 through a merger of three organisations, The Straits Times Press Group, Singapore News and Publications Limited and Times Publishing Berhad.[3]

In 2009, SPH celebrated its 25th anniversary and for the first time, changed its corporate logo. The new logo was launched on 30 March that year by former President S. R. Nathan and chairman Tony Tan Keng Yam.

Ownership

Like all newspaper companies in Singapore, SPH is regulated by the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) of 1974 and issues both management and ordinary shares. As specified by the NPPA, all issues and transfers of management shares have to be approved by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and in "any resolution relating to the appointment or dismissal of a director or any member of the staff" the vote of one management share is equivalent to 200 ordinary shares.[4]

There are close ties between the directors of SPH and the Singapore Government. S. R. Nathan, Director of the Security and Intelligence Division and later President of Singapore served as SPH's Executive chairman from 1982 to 1988 and the first President (1994–2002) of SPH was Tjong Yik Min, former chief of the Internal Security Department. The immediate former Chairman of SPH, Tony Tan was Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1994 to 2005 and President of Singapore from 2011 to 2017.

Dr Lee Boon Yang is the current chairman of Singapore Press Holdings. Former Chief of Defence Force Ng Yat Chung is the current CEO since 1 September 2017.[5]

Owners of ordinary share

99.9% ordinary shares were held by the public.[6] According to the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act:

(3) No person shall, on or after 2nd September 2002, enter into any agreement or arrangement, whether oral or in writing and whether express or implied, to act together with any other person with respect to the acquisition, holding or disposal of, or the exercise of rights in relation to, their interests in voting shares of an aggregate of more than 5% of the total votes attached to all voting shares in a newspaper company without first obtaining the approval of the Minister.[7]

Thus, by ordinary share, there is no controlling shareholder. The current "largest" shareholder by ordinary share is DBS Nominees Pte. Ltd.[6] It was followed by the operating unit of Citibank, HSBC, United Overseas Bank and other banks, that provide fiduciary or nominee services.[6] Other private companies and individuals owned less than 1% of the ordinary share each.[6]

Owners of management share
As of 7 October 2019[6]
NameNumber% of management shareEquivalent of ordinary share
(during special voting)		% of total share capital
(excluding treasury shares)		Equivalent %
(during special voting)
Great Eastern Life Assurance3,698,29722.60%739,659,400
OCBC Bank2,748,82916.80%549,765,800
NTUC Income2,674,21916.35%534,843,800
Singtel2,176,11913.30%435,223,800
DBS Bank1,554,3629.50%310,872,400
United Overseas Bank1,316,5788.05%263,315,600
National University of Singapore876,7975.36%175,359,400
Nanyang Technological University658,2604.02%131,652,000
Fullerton (Private) Limited658,2604.02%131,652,000
CEO120.00%2,400
Directors excluding CEO360.00%7,200
Total16,361,769100%3,272,353,8001.01%67.18%

Newspapers

In Singapore, SPH publishes 17 newspaper titles in four languages.

English

Chinese

Malay

Tamil

Magazines

SPH has also published and produced over 80 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a range of interests from lifestyle to information technology.

  • Action Asia
  • Asia-Pacific Boating
  • AsiaSpa
  • China Boating
  • Cleo Singapore
  • Cosmopolitan
  • Eh!
  • Female
  • Female Brides
  • The Finder Singapore[8]
  • GameAxis Online
  • Glam
  • Golf Digest
  • Hardware Mag
  • Harper's Bazaar
  • Harper's Bazaar Singapore[9]
  • Her World
  • Her World Brides
  • Home & Decor
  • ICON
  • ICON Moments
  • JET Asia-Pacific
  • LP Luxury Properties
  • Marie Claire
  • Men's Health
  • Nanyou
  • Nuyou
  • Nuyou Time
  • The Peak
  • The Peak Selections Timepieces
  • People at the Peak
  • Shape
  • The Singapore Women's Weekly[10]
  • Torque
  • www.hardwarezone.com
  • Young Parents
  • Young Parents Preschool Guide

Book publishing

SPH's subsidiary Straits Times Press produces books and periodicals in English and Chinese.

Online

Beyond print, the digital editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 360 million page views with 23 million unique visitors every month. Apart from AsiaOne, SPH's online and new media initiatives include HardwareZone, the largest forum in Singapore; STJobs and STProperty, online portal for jobs and property; and sgCarMart and STClassifieds for cars and general classified ads.

Properties

SPH owns retail properties Paragon, The Clementi Mall and The Seletar Mall. SPH's wholly owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, has also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

SPH REIT

SPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises three retail malls and one strip mall, The Paragon, The Clementi Mall, The Rail Mall, and Westfield Marion. Paragon is a prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping belt. The Clementi Mall is a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town. In December 2019, SPH REIT acquired 50% ownership in Westfield Marion from Scentre Group.[11]

Events and outdoor advertising

SPH's events arm Sphere Exhibits organises consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in the region. In addition, SPH has ventured into out-of-home (OOH) advertising through its digital out-of-home platform SPHMBO.

Radio

Broadcasting

In the radio business, SPH Radio Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations 96.3 Hao FM and UFM 100.3 in Mandarin, as well as Money FM 89.3, Kiss 92FM and One FM 91.3 in English.

In March 2017, SPH Radio won a bid offer from the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) to operate two additional FM frequencies: 89.3 MHz and the former MediaCorp-owned 96.3 MHz. SPH is planning to launch two new stations on the said frequencies, including a Mandarin-language infotainment station, and an English-language business station.

Other businesses

Television

On 8 June 2000, SPH MediaWorks was set up with the aim of breaking into the broadcasting business,[12] and received Singapore's second nationwide free-to-air terrestrial television broadcasting service licence on 26 April 2001.[13] SPH soon afterwards launched two channels, Channel U (Mandarin) on 6 May 2001 and TVWorks (English) on 20 May 2001.[14] On 3 March 2002, TV Works is renamed to Channel i with a new programming belt.[15]

On 31 December 2004, SPH sold its television operation to Mediacorp, restoring Mediacorp's former monopoly status. Channel i was shut down on 1 January 2005, but Channel U continues to operate. Through a merger, SPH retains a 20% stake in Mediacorp's television operational, as well as 40% stake in Today newspaper.

On 29 September 2017, SPH completed its sale of its stakes in Mediacorp's television operational, and Today. Mediacorp Press and Mediacorp TV Holdings ceased to be associated companies of SPH.[16]

M1 Limited

In February 2019, it was announced that Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) had together obtained majority control of telco M1, after Axiata accepted their joint offer of $2.06 a share for a 28.6 per cent stake. Later in March 2019, the telco said that Konnectivity, a company owned jointly by the two companies, would buy all of its remaining shares.

SPH Buzz

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around Singapore. As of 27 April 2020, SPH has divested Buzz to Thai-Pore Enterprise for an undisclosed sum. Buzz was previously a wholly owned subsidiary under SPH.[17]

MindChamps

SPH has a 26.84 per cent stake[18] in SGX listed preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

Orange Valley

SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes.

FastJobs

SPH owns and operates mobile application and job portal FastJobs.[19]

References
  1. "SPH appoints two deputy CEOs". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. Tan, Sue-Ann (4 June 2020). "Mapletree Industrial Trust replaces SPH in Straits Times Index". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. "Formation of Singapore Press Holdings". NLB. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. George, Cherian (1 April 2012). Freedom from the Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore. NUS Press. p. 31. ISBN 9789971695941.
  5. "Ng Yat Chung to be SPH CEO from Sept 1; Alan Chan to retire after 15 years". The Straits Times. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. "Main Shareholders". Singapore Press Holdings. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  7. "Newspaper and Printing Presses Act - Singapore Statutes Online". sso.agc.gov.sg.
  8. "The Finder Singapore: Insider's Guide to Living Well in Singapore". The Finder.
  9. "Harper's BAZAAR Singapore/Fashion, Beauty, Travel, Parties & Culture". Harper's Bazaar Singapore.
  10. Jun, Seah Pei. "Homepage". The Singapore Women's Weekly.
  11. "SPH REIT to Acquire a 50.0% Interest in Westfield Marion Shopping Centre, Adelaide, South Australia" (PDF). SPH REIT.
  12. "SPH Launches new Broadcasting and Entertainment Subsidiary". SPH. 8 June 2000. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  13. "Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) issues Broadcast Licence to SPH Mediaworks". SBA (now IMDA). 26 April 2001. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  14. "The MediaWorks Big Tune-In; Two Free TV Channels Coming Your Way". SPH MediaWorks. Archived from the original on 4 December 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  15. "i - Your choice for Movies and Action on Singapore's Terrestrial TV!". SPH MediaWorks. 25 February 2002. Archived from the original on 14 August 2002. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  16. "SPH completes sale of Mediacorp stakes". The Straits Times. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  17. https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sph-to-divest-convenience-store-chain-buzz
  18. "SPH raises stake in MindChamps Preschool". The Edge Singapore. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  19. Hwei, Liang (13 April 2015). "Singapore Classifieds Goes Mobile: SPH Launches FastJobs App". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
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