Formerly Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH), the company has been operating under the name SMT since December 2021. It is a media company in Singapore that runs print media outlets, news portals, and radio stations. The group also has investments in real estate. Some of its key assets include The Straits Times and The Business Times in English, Lianhe Wanbao and Lianhe Zaobao in Chinese, Berita Harian in Malay, and Tamil Murasu in Tamil.
Media assets
Publishing: The Business Times, The New Paper, The Straits Times, Tabla!, Lianhe Wanbao, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu
Radio: Money FM, One FM, Kiss 92, Hao FM, UFM
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
SPH was previously a publicly traded company with a majority of its shares (over 99%) held by the public. Additionally, the company issued management shares, which granted state agencies and state-run companies the authority to appoint individuals to the board of directors and exert influence over the company’s internal affairs. Historically, there has been a close relationship between the directors of SPH and the Singapore government.
In line with the print media regulations in Singapore, all transfers of management shares in publishing companies in the country are subject to approval by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
In December 2021, SPH completed the transfer of all its media assets to a new company, SPH Media Trust (SMT), a company limited by guarantee (CLG), which is a non-profit organization. The move was apparently prompted by economic reasons, mostly the financial hardships experienced in recent years by the media outlets run by SPH.
Despite assurances from senior officials at the new group that the SMT will be entirely independent, Khaw Boon Wan, a member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), has been appointed as the SMT’s chairman.
Source of funding and budget
SMT’s funding is derived from a combination of commercial revenues, primarily from advertising sales, and state budget allocations. In recent years, the company has experienced a decline in profitability, primarily due to a reduction in advertising spending and a decrease in newspaper circulation. Previously, the company did not disclose the funds it received from the government, so the share of state funding in its total budget has remained unclear for some time. In recent years, however, SMT has made more detailed information about its finances public.
In July 2023, following an internal review that identified discrepancies in reported circulation figures, the government issued a warning that it might reduce the planned allocation of funds to SMT. In 2022, the Singapore government announced that it had set aside S$ 900m to support SMT over the period 2023-2027. The initial disbursement was made in March 2023. The government funding must be allocated to technology updates, talent development, and vernacular media output. The government provided S$ 320m in funding to SPH Media Trust (SMT) during the 2022-2023 financial year, according to information released by the Communications Minister.
The company’s revenue from the media business in the fiscal year ending August 2021 declined by nearly 24% to S$ 193.1m (US$ 143m), according to data reported by the company. To date, the company’s media business has incurred restructuring costs amounting to more than S$ 243.3m (US$ 180m).
Editorial independence
SMT’s media outlets are viewed as government-aligned entities. The majority of the pressures are coming from the top governing structures of the company, which consist of individuals with close ties to the government. In the wake of the corporate restructuring at SMT in December 2021, the company’s leadership pledged to safeguard SMT’s editorial independence. However, it is premature to ascertain whether this commitment has been honored.
To date, no domestic statute and no independent assessment mechanism that would validate the independence of the media outlets run by SMT have been identified.
September 2024