| |
Sing Tao Daily Tops
Hong Kong's Newspapers in the
Industry's Awards
Sing Tao Daily has always been recognized as a quality newspaper
in the market. Further to the 9 awards achieved earlier in the "Hong
Kong News Awards 2004", Sing Tao Daily won 7 more prizes in
the "Consumer Rights Reporting Awards 2005" organized
by the Consumer Council and the "Focus at the Frontline 2004" organized
by the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association. Among the 16
prizes collected at these three reputable contests, 6 were champion
awards rendering Sing Tao Daily as the biggest winner in the
industry. This achievement has further confirmed Sing Tao Daily's
position as a high quality newspaper.
The "Consumer Rights Reporting Awards 2005" won by Sing
Tao Daily:
| Category |
Award |
|
Features Category
|
Gold Award |
| Bronze
Award |
| Merit |
| News
Category |
Merit |
The "Focus at the Frontline 2004" won by Sing Tao Daily:
| Category |
Award |
|
People Category |
Winner |
| Nature and Environment |
Winner |
| General News Category |
2nd Runner-up |
The
20th Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition
Completed Successfully
The 20th
Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition, jointly
organized by Sing Tao Daily, The
Standard and the Education and Manpower Bureau, was held on May
2 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. A well-recognized annual event
in the academic sector, the competition this year was attended
by over 2,000 students, teachers and parents. The number of enrollment
saw a record high with a total of 170 competing teams. After 110
sessions of competition over five months, Diocesans Boys' School
and St Joseph's College won the championship title in the Chinese
and English section, respectively.
The event was officiated by Mrs.
Fanny Law, Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, who
presented the awards to the champions and the 1st runner-ups. The
Panel of Judges comprised leading figures from the academic, media
and legal sectors, including Ms. Audrey Eu, Legislative Councillor;
Mr. Alan Leong, Legislative Councillor; Mr. Ngor Ma, Assistant
Professor of the Division of Social Science, HKUST; media veteran
Ms. Claudia Mo; and Mr. Siu Sai Wo, the Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Editor of Sing Tao Daily.
In addition, a set of VCDs featuring the highlights of the competition,
speeches by the Guest of Honor and Panel of Judges, together with
exclusive guest interviews was made available for redemption, which
was met with great success.
Sing Tao Daily Keeps
on Offering Quality Supplements
Sing Tao Daily's supplements
have always been highly regarded by our readers and advertisers.
In April, Sing Tao Daily launched the "First & Second
Hand Property Guide" to offer
our readers useful information in making their property investment
decisions. In addition, to celebrate the 1st anniversary
of "Investment
Weekly" in early May, Sing Tao Daily offered a free
supplement "Smart
Investors", featuring 28 financial, business and property
elites, who shared their investment experience in this glossy
booklet. In early June, Sing Tao Daily also published the "News
Teaching Kits", which was first-of-its-kind in Hong
Kong, using news reports as a teaching tool for general education.
The "News Teaching Kits" redemption program was
widely popular and well received by the school segment.
The Standard Scoops
Nine Awards at SOPA
This year, The Standard won more awards for editorial excellence
from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) than any other
local English-language publication.
The awards won by The Standard:
| Category |
Award |
|
Excellence in Newspapers |
Winner |
| Local
Journalist Award |
Winner |
| Excellence
in Reporting |
Winner |
| Excellence
in Opinion Writing |
Winner |
| Excellence
in Business Reporting |
Winner |
| Excellence
in Business Reporting |
Honorable
Mention |
| Excellence
in Editorial Cartooning |
Honorable
Mention |
| Excellence
in Special Issue |
Honorable
Mention |
| Excellence
in Feature Writing |
Honorable
Mention |
"This is a tremendous honor and a reward for all of our
hard work over the last year," said Mark Clifford, the Publisher
and Editor-in-Chief of The Standard.
"We have a great staff that work very hard to make a good
newspaper," said Clifford. "These awards belong to all
of them."
Weekend
Standard's New Magazine
Format Beefs Up Content and Design
Weekend Standard launched an enlarged and enhanced weekend magazine
on May 7. The eye-catching magazine, which is included as an insert
in the weekend edition of the paper, includes all the favorite
Weekend Standard sections – Spectrum, Lifestyle and Review, plus
an enriched Seven Days listing guide.
The premier Spectrum section looks into the issues and personalities
behind the news. Weekend Lifestyle covers travel, food, fashion,
health, and technology and offers our own Reese Deveaux on the "Cutting
Edge'' of Hong Kong cuisine. Weekend Review focuses on the latest
trends in film, theatre, music and literature plus CD, DVD and
book reviews. The enlarged Seven Days guide covers TV, movies,
galleries, music events and more, giving readers a one-stop roadmap
to leisure-time for the coming week.
"The new look Weekend Standard is a simple and elegant magazine," said
Paul Goddard, the editor of the Weekend Standard. "We want
to give readers more value for money, more lifestyle and entertainment
pages, together with in-depth stories that matter in Hong Kong,
Asia and the rest of the world."
The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Standard Mark Clifford
said, "The new look and feel of the Weekend Standard will
give readers more reasons to enjoy the paper and it also allows
advertisers to showcase their products and brands in a sophisticated,
stylish environment."
The
Standard Rolls out a Series of New Initiatives
The Standard launched the "Monday Money" on May 9,
which is published on every Monday and showcases in-depth stories
and analysis covering business and finance in Hong Kong and Mainland
China. "Monday Money" encompasses everything from individual
company's strategies and profiles of key decision-makers to trends
in corporate finance, trade and investment.
The Standard published the "Property Standard" on May
20, which is included as an insert in the main paper on every Friday.
It covers comprehensive articles on the latest property market
information in Hong Kong as well as featuring China and overseas
properties and new residential projects.
Following the tremendous success of the "Hong Kong IPO Guide
2004", The Standard's editorial team has published the "Macau
Review" on April 25, which focuses on the facts and figures
of Macau's recent growth, economic and investment potential. The
Review was well received by our readers and advertisers.
In addition, The Standard formed a partnership with the American
Women's Association (AWA) of Hong Kong in May 2005, whereby the
non-profit, charitable organization will subscribe the newspaper
for its 700 members in Hong Kong. At the same time, The Standard
will support AWA's initiatives in helping Hong Kong charities.
East
Week Hosts "Quality Living Award Hong Kong 2005"

East Week held the "Quality
Living Award Hong Kong 2005" on
May 24 to pay tribute to the service and product providers who
have contributed to enhancing Hong Kong's "quality living".
The awardees were voted by "Quality Living Award HK" Award
Committee and the public, covering 25 awards from 3 categories,
namely "Happy Time with Family", "Share of Friendship" and "Self
Enjoyment".
In addition, 3 honorable awards were also presented during the
award ceremony including "Hall of Fame Award", "China
Free Walkers' Choice Award" and "Centaline Highest Vote
Award".
Winners of "Quality Living Award Hong Kong 2005":
|
Happy Time with Family |
|
Public Utilities Category |
Public Transportation Category |
Property
Management Category |
Travel
Agency Category |
|
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited |
MTR Corporation Limited |
Hong
Yip Service Company Ltd. |
S.K.Y.
Travel |
|
Airline Category |
Furniture Shops Category |
Shopping
Mall Category |
Health
Food Category |
|
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited |
Giormani |
International
Finance Centre Management Co., Ltd. |
Eu
Yan Sang (Hong Kong) Ltd. |
|
Insurance Agency Category |
Digital Camera Category |
Electrical
Appliances Category |
Food
Brand Category |
| ING
Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited |
Canon |
Samsung |
Nissin
Foods Company Limited |
|
Share of Friendship |
| Chain
Restaurant Category |
Chinese
Cuisine Restaurant Category |
Banking
Services Category |
Mobile
Phone Category |
| Pizza
Hut Hong Kong |
Super
Star Seafood Restaurant |
Hang
Seng Bank Limited |
Nokia
(H.K.) Ltd. |
Mobile
Telecom-munications Network
Category |
Fixed
Line and Broadband Category |
Computer & Peripherals
Category |
|
| SmarTone-Vodafone |
PCCW
Limited |
Epson |
|
|
Self Enjoyment |
| AV
Products Chain Store Category |
Jewelry
Chain Store Category |
Beauty & Fitness
Centre Category |
Slimming & Beauty
Centre Category |
| Broadway
Photo Supply Limited |
Pink
Box |
Phillip
Wain |
Marie
France Bodyline |
| Slimming
Product Category |
Premium
Skin Care Product Category |
|
|
| LifePharm-
Extrim |
Swissline |
|
|
|
Honorable Award |
| Hall
of Fame Award |
China
Free Walkers' Choice Award |
Centaline
Highest Vote Award |
|
| Eu
Yan Sang (Hong Kong) Ltd. |
Sa
Sa International Limited |
Cathay
Pacific Airways Limited |
|
JET
Elects "JET ICONS" as Hong Kong's Trend Setters

JET has always been devoted to promote local creative
culture and has organized the "JET ICON" award in March.
To pay tribute to their unique senses in fashion style, trendy
sense, lifestyle and creativity, Denise Ho, Edmond Leung, Karena
Lam, Wyman Wong, Candy Lo and Rick Chin were selected as "2005
JET ICONS" . Their continuous effort in driving local creative
culture was also highly acclaimed by JET and all trendies. The "JET
ICON" award presentation ceremony held on March 23 was well
attended by many special guests from various sectors and representatives
of key brands.
| Key Financial Information |
| Sing
Tao News Corporation Limited (Stock Code:1105) |
| Number of Shares
Outstanding
(as at May 31, 2005) |
1,834,535,074 |
Market
Capitalization
(as at May 31, 2005) |
HK$697.12
million |
|
Major Shareholder:
Luckman Trading Limited
(owned by Mr. Ho Tsu Kwok,
Charles) |
45.86% |
| Financial
Year End |
December
31 |
Turnover
(Twelve months ended December 31, 2004) |
HK$1,441.07
million |
Net
Profit attributable to Shareholders
(Twelve months ended December 31, 2004) |
HK$4.7
million |
Net
Assets
(as at December 31, 2004) |
HK$1,113.22
million |
|
|
|
|
East
Touch Enhances Content with
New Choco
East
Touch was revamped in May with enriched content. Apart from
providing youngster readers with coverage on the latest trends
in culture and lifestyle, cosmopolitan and entertainment
news, East Touch now carries a new Choco.
Originated from "beautiful
living" concept, Choco covers the latest information
on fashion, brands and make-up and offers its readers everything
about "beauty".
PC Market
Launches a Variety
of Promotions and Funs

In
May, PC Market launched the first-of-its-kind I.T. competition
– King of I.T. Literate, challenging the I.T. fanatics on
their knowledge and application skills on both computer and
digital products. The competition aims to put the development
of I.T. industry forward, and to encourage readers to keep
up their I.T. knowledge in the ever-changing world. The King
of I.T. Literate has drawn very propitious response from
the market, both the advertisers and readers. After the first
round of contest, 4 final contestants were selected for the
second round to win gifts worth over HK$50,000.
Besides, in order to show our
gratitude to the loyal readers, PC Market also initiated
a reader benefits program named "PCMon$y" at
the end of April. In every issue, different value of "PCMon$y" will
be imprinted in the magazine. The "PCMon$y" has
no expiry date. By collecting the "PCMon$y", readers
can redeem various exclusive privileges, such as bidding
for the latest I.T. and digital products, redeeming gifts
at a special discount, or joining different workshops.
The
first "PCMon$y" promotion
is to bid for five sets of Sony PSP Value Pack. This
promotion had aroused widespread fever and attracted over
1,000 readers to bid. PC Market will keep on offering the
newest I.T. and digital products for readers to bid or to
redeem.
Sing
Tao Publishing Launches 24 New Book Titles
Sing Tao Publishing has launched 24 new book titles in the
second quarter of this year, including "Trivia – Public
Affairs", "Next Stop – Seoul" and "Complete
Guide to Top Schools in the UK". Due to overwhelming
response from the market, further print-runs have been made
to fulfill readers' demand and one of our most popular books, "New
Era Parenting Series – 100 Encouraging Golden Phrases",
is now at its 8th edition since being first published in
2003.
To further strengthen Sing Tao Publishing's leading position
in the parenting book series and to widen its reach in community
education, Sing Tao Publishing has co-organized the "New
Era Kids – Heartwarming Card Competition and Coloring Competition" with
advertisers to enhance communication between parents and
their children.
Sing
Tao Publishing Continues
to Promote Children's Education
The Hong Kong Book Fair 2005 will be held at the Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 20 – 25. In line
with the Hong Kong Book Fair's objective of promoting reading
habit among students, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council
and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council have jointly
organized the "Reading Write-up Competition for Students",
with an aim to boost students' interests and abilities in
reading and writing. Sing Tao Publishing's "Rich Kid
Training Guide" was selected as one of the book titles
for the elementary secondary school group in the competition.
In addition, starting from June 8, Sing Tao Daily's languages
section will extract one article weekly from the "Common
Error in Chinese Characters – An Interactive Guide" published
by Sing Tao Publishing. The Hong Kong Education City will
also promote specific books published by Sing Tao Publishing
in its website under the section headed "Library – New
Release" on a regular basis.
|
|
JobMarket Partners with Microsoft to
Enhance SMEs' Operational Efficiency
JobMarket partnered with Microsoft to host the "Maximizing
Enterprise's Operation Efficiency Workshop" on 23 March and
invited many small and medium enterprises to attend the workshop.
In the workshop, Mr. Marty So, General Manager of JobMarket Publishing
Limited, discussed the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises
in Hong Kong, in particular the increasingly popular online recruitment
services and the operational efficiency it brings to the enterprises.
Microsoft's professional consultant also demonstrated the use of
Windows 2003 to help SMEs' management to improve working efficiency.
The attendees participated actively and exchanged many ideas with
the speakers.
JobMarket
Presents Best Stories Awards to the High School Career Planning
Composition Competition

JobMarket has been a long standing collaborative partner with
The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) to help youngsters
identifying their career objectives. At the "Fight for Your
Future" - Career Planning Composition Competition organized
by HKFYG, JobMarket acted as the exclusive media sponsor. Ms. Fanny
Chan, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of JobMarket, was invited
as one of the panel judges and award presenters.
There were a total of over 200 entries from 35 secondary schools
in the competition. At the award presentation ceremony held at
the Hong Kong Science Museum on 19 March, Ms. Chan shared her own
career development path with the students adopting the theme from
one of the winning essays of a Form 4 student. She further sheds
light on the importance of getting into career planning early and
encourages student to get engaged in continuous learning at this
age of knowledge economy. In addition, together with three other
award presenters - Mr. Hung Chung Yam, former HK Champion cyclist,
now District Director of AIA (Bermuda) Limited, Dr. Stanley Chau,
Doctor of M decins
Sans Fronti res and Mr. Albert Ng, The Winner of Business Start
Up Awards of LiveWIRE 2004, a fruitful discussion on career planning
was held at the end and created the high-light of the event. The
response was overwhelming and interactive discussions were conducted
in a lively and casual atmosphere.

Sing Tao
Overseas at a Glance

Sing Tao Daily's New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles Bureaus
held a number of events to celebrate Mother's Day with readers.
New York and San Francisco Bureaus organized "Mother's Day
Drawing Competition" and "Mother's Day Card Design Contest" respectively,
where children expressed their thanks to mothers through paintings
and hand-made cards. On the other hand, Los Angeles Bureau hosted
the "2005 Mother's Day Party" and arranged Miss Sing
Tao to present flowers, leaving all mothers with a memorable night.
Sing
Tao News Corporation
Reports Final Results for 2004
Sing Tao News Corporation Limited announced its annual results
on 26 April 2005. Overall, the Group's Media Ownership and Services
Business, benefited from the recovery in the local economy and
achieved satisfactory results for the year. In 2004, Sing Tao Daily
recorded a significant growth in circulation and readership. Our
dedication to editorial excellence has won the paper a number of
major and important media awards. The Group's magazine publishing
business also saw considerable improvements in its results, thanks
to a full year contribution by East Week which was above expectations.
Overall, the Group's Media operations saw an increase in revenue
by approximately 17% as compared with 2003. However, higher newsprint
prices, increased paper consumption and investments in the business
had resulted in a lower operating profit.
| Summary of Profit
and Loss Account: |
|
Year
ended
31 December 2004
HK$'000 |
| Turnover |
1,441,070 |
|
Cost of sales |
1,021,749 |
| Gross
profit |
419,321 |
| Profit
from operating activities |
3,438 |
| Profit
before tax |
16,491 |
Net
profit attributable to
shareholders |
4,701 |
New
Senior Management and
Board Members Appointed at
Sing Tao News Corporation
In April, with the departure of Mr. Wong Wai Ming, Mr. Lo Wing
Hung was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Group. Mr.
Lo was the CEO of the Newspaper Group and a veteran in the newspaper
business with extensive experience in the media industry. Together
with the appointment of Mr. Louis Lau as Chief Financial Officer
of the Group in May, the strengthened management team will take
the Group forward in further building up its media business.
In addition, the Board of Sing Tao News Corporation has been joined
by Mr. Lee Cho Jat and Mr. Louis Lau. Mr. Lee has been appointed
as an independent non executive director and a member of the Audit
Committee with effect from May 27, 2005.
|
| Board Of Directors |
|
|
Executive Directors:
Mr. Ho Tsu Kwok, Charles (Chairman)
Mr. Lo Wing Hung (Chief Executive Officer)
Mr. Jia Hongping
Mr. Jim Sui Hing
Mr. Lai Ting Yiu
Mr. Lau Chung Man, Louis
Mrs. Sy Wong Chor Fong
Mr. Yang Yiu Chong, Ronald Jeffrey |
Non-Executive
Director:
Mr. Leung Chun Ying |
Independent
Non-Executive Directors:
Mr. Timothy David Dattels
Ms. Ho Chiu King, Pansy Catilina
Mr. King, Richard Yun Zing
Mr. Lee Cho Jat
Mr. Tung Chee Chen |
|
|