Hong Kong’s print media outlets are dropping like flies. Flies squatted with newspapers that nobody’s reading.
After Hong Kong Daily News ceased publication on Saturday, Hong Kong’s oldest Chinese-language newspaper, Sing Pao Daily News, has announced that it will not have a printed edition today after it failed to pay printing fees yesterday.
On Monday, the paper’s chairman Gu Zhuoheng claimed that provisional liquidators appointed by the High Court in its proceedings froze the paper’s bank account, reports the SCMP.
However, the claim has been refuted by one of the liquidators, who said it was a misunderstanding and that they had made no request for the bank to freeze the account.
The Sing Pao’s current financial turmoil continues an unpleasant saga, which started in April when creditor Korchina Culture Investment petitioned the High Court to wind up the company.
In the same month, Sing Pao Media published a notice claiming a lender sent a statutory demand notice, and that the directors of the company were negotiating with a third independent creditor.
The paper won’t produce a printed edition until the High Court approves a financing plan that will free up funds with its parent company, Sing Pao Media Enterprises.
Gu has agreed with the liquidators to inject HKD5 million to resume daily operations while investing HKD100 million annually in the future. He is expected to submit the plan today, which will reach the court within two days.
The paper’s content will run on its website for the time being.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that staff of Next Media’s Next Magazine will be offered voluntary severance packages after Apple Daily’s parent company reported grim prospects for its print operations.
Photo: Sing Pao via Wikipedia Commons
