Saigon Times Group is a publishing company based in Ho Chi Minh City. It publishes a range of titles, including the Vietnamese business weekly Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon, the English-language newspaper The Saigon Times Daily, and several industry magazines, such as the consumer newspaper Sai Gon Tiep Thi and the IT news magazine Thoi Bao Vi Tinh Saigon.
Media assets
Publishing: Kinh Te Saigon, The Saigon Times Weekly, The Saigon Times
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The Saigon Times Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade. The Department appoints the Group’s management and oversees its operations. This information has been confirmed by experts and journalists specializing in Vietnam interviewed for this report in June 2024.
Source of funding and budget
Saigon Times Group does not disclose information regarding its annual budget. As a unit of the Department of Industry and Trade in the Ho Chi Minh City administration, the group is funded by the government, according to experts and journalists with expertise in Vietnam interviewed for this report in June 2024.
In recent years, the group’s outlets have started selling advertising space in their publications. The city administration exercises complete control over the group’s financial operations.
Editorial independence
The Saigon Times Group operates as part of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, which has full authority over the editorial content of the publication, according to experts and journalists with expertise in Vietnam interviewed for this report in June 2024.
To date, no domestic statute and no independent oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Saigon Times Group publications have been identified.
September 2024