Singapore Press Holdings

Singapore Press Holdings
Native name
 新加坡报业控股
Public company
Traded as SGX: T39
Industry Publishing, mass media
Founded 1 January 1984
Headquarters Singapore
Key people
 Dr Lee Boon Yang (chairman)
Ng Yat Chung (CEO)
Anthony Tan (Deputy CEO)[1]
Products Publications
Website www.sph.com.sg

Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH; Chinese: 新加坡报业控股) is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, radio and outdoor media, and property and healthcare. SPH has over 5,000 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 Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the Straits Times Index.

History

Singapore Press Holdings Limited was formed on 1 January 1984 through a merger of three organisations, The Straits Times Press, Singapore News and Publications Limited and Times Publishing Berhad.

In 2009, SPH celebrated its 25th anniversary and for the first time, changed its corporate logo. The new logo was launched on 30 March 2009 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.[2]

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.[3]

Owners of ordinary share

99.9% ordinary shares were held by the public.[4] 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.[5]

Thus, by ordinary share, there is no controlling shareholder. The currently "largest" shareholder by ordinary share, Citibank Nominees Singapore Pte. Ltd.,[4] was in fact a nominee services company of Citibank for their clients. It was followed by the operating unit of DBS Bank, HSBC, United Overseas Bank, BNP Paribas and other banks.[4] Other private companies and individuals owned less than 1% of the ordinary share each.[4]

Owners of management share

As of 3 October 2016[4]
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
CEO80.00%1,600
Directors excluding CEO400.00%8,000
Total16,361,769100%3,272,353,8001.01%67.18%

Newspapers

In Singapore, SPH publishes 18 newspaper titles in four languages. On an average day, 3.05 million individuals or 76 per cent of people over age 15 read one of SPH's news publications.

English

Chinese

Malay

Tamil

Magazines

SPH has also published and produced more than 100 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[6]
  • GameAxis Online
  • Glam
  • Golf Digest
  • Hardware Mag
  • Harper's Bazaar
  • Harper's Bazaar Singapore[7]
  • 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
  • Seventeen
  • Shape
  • Simply Her
  • The Singapore Women's Weekly[8]
  • 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 Internet 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; ST701 and STProperty, online portal for jobs and property; and sgCarMart and STClassifieds for cars and general classified ads. SPH also owns the online citizen journalism portal STOMP and the online video service SPH Razor.

SPH also launched mobile apps complementary to its news services such as The Straits Times' iPad and enhanced iPhone apps, an Android smartphone application and The Business Times' iPad and smartphone apps. SPH's Chinese flagship newspaper Lianhe Zaobao has launched digital editions which include a web application, as well as online and PDF versions.

It had previously invested in Rednano, a local search engine and directory service that was merged with ST701.[9]

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 two retail malls, The Paragon and The Clementi Mall. 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.

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 6 June 2000, SPH MediaWorks was set with the aim of breaking into the broadcasting business, and received Singapore's second nationwide free-to-air terrestrial television broadcasting service licence on 6 May 2001. SPH soon afterwards launched two channels, Channel U (Mandarin) and Channel i (English).

On 31 December 2004, SPH sold its television operation to MediaCorp, restoring its 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 30 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.[10]

M1 Limited

SPH Multimedia Ltd has 13.94% shareholding in M1 Limited and has a joint venture with Axiata (Malaysia) and Keppel Telecoms.

SPH Buzz

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around Singapore.

MindChamps

SPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

Orange Valley

SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes.

References

  1. ↑ "SPH appoints two deputy CEOs". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ↑ George, Cherian (2012-04-01). Freedom from the Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore. NUS Press. p. 31. ISBN 9789971695941.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Main Shareholders". Singapore Press Holdings. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. ↑ http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;ident=f133d1c3-b0aa-4fae-a1f6-278381457ff8;page=0;query=DocId%3A%224a71c728-6dbf-4de2-a730-a121b679ffac%22%20Status%3Ainforce%20Depth%3A0;rec=0#legis
  6. ↑ "The Finder Singapore: Insider's Guide to Living Well In Singapore". The Finder.
  7. ↑ "Harper's BAZAAR Singapore/Fashion, Beauty, Travel, Parties & Culture". Harper's Bazaar Singapore.
  8. ↑ The Singapore Women's Weekly
  9. ↑ "The quiet death of Rednano.sg - Techgoondu". Techgoondu. 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  10. ↑ "SPH completes sale of Mediacorp stakes". The Straits Times. 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-12-30.


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