Singapore Press : SPH invests in Han Language Centre

Singapore, 4 August 2017 - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) today announced that it will enter into a joint venture with Mr Ann Jong Juan (韩永元先生), the founder and principal of the Han Language Centre (汉语文中心). The joint venture will enable SPH's Chinese Media Group to co-develop Chinese language education programmes and events with Han Language Centre that will cater to students and adults, combining the expertise of both parties in education, culture, as well as news and current affairs.

Founded in 1993, Han Language Centre is an established local brand name in the Chinese tuition and education scene. It has one of the largest Chinese tuition centre footprints in Singapore with 19 centres all over the island.

The transaction will see SPH holding a 75% stake in the business and Mr Ann, holding the remaining stake. SPH's total investment will be about $8.5 million, of which $4.8 million will be paid on completion and the rest will be paid on the business achieving specific targets.

Han Language Centre offers a full spectrum of in-house developed programmes for primary and secondary students. The curriculum injects real life examples to make lessons interesting and help students easily apply and adapt to their lessons. The education materials are developed based on the latest MOE syllabus. The Management team is also made up of former Senior Education Officers or those who held lead department positions at the MOE and have vast experience in developing the Chinese school curriculum.

Mr Ann, who is better known as Han Laoda in the arts fraternity, is a prominent figure in the Singapore theatre scene. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Theatre in 1990 and has 45 years of teaching experience in the Chinese language. Mr. Ann spent the first 6 years at Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS) of the Ministry of Education (MOE) developing primary school Chinese curriculum, and the last two years developing and editing extracurricular reading materials. He became a guest lecturer at Singapore Centre for Chinese Language from 2011 to 2013. Mr Ann was also presented with the inaugural Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Award (SCCCA) in May this year.

Mr Alan Chan, Chief Executive Officer of SPH, said: 'SPH's strategic investment in Han Language Centre will strengthen our education portfolio, which is one of our growing adjacent businesses. Our Chinese Media Group's wealth of multimedia resources and student publications, integrated with Han Language Centre's innovative curriculum and systematic teaching methods, will make Chinese accessible, alive and interesting to our students.'

Mr Ann of Han Language Centre said: 'SPH's Chinese Media Group is recognised as a bastion of the Chinese language and culture whilst Han Language Centre has a valuable foundation of strong curriculum and teaching staff. With SPH's involvement and support, we can expand and enhance our branding, teaching and curriculum to reach out to more learners, and more importantly, show them that mastering Chinese can be both fun and rewarding.'

SPH first ventured into the education sector in 2014, investing $12 million for a 22% stake in the pre-school and enrichment provider MindChamps.

Attached: photo of Mr Ann Jong Juan, founder and principal of the Han Language Centre

Photo credits: Lianhe Zaobao

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For more information, please contact:

Ms Chin Soo Fang

Head

Corporate Communications & CSR
Singapore Press Holdings
DID: 6319 1216
Email: soofang@sph.com.sg

Mr Francis Mah
Senior Manager
Corporate Communications & CSR
Singapore Press Holdings
DID: 6319 1028
Email: mahys@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media
The English/Malay/Tamil Media group (EMTM) comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian and their respective student publications. It also includes subsidiaries Tamil Murasu Ltd, which publishes Tamil Murasu and tabla!; book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE-Russell Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3, and SPH Golf (including SPH Pacom Ltd).

The Chinese Media group (CMG) publishes three Chinese newspapers in print and digital format - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, and ZBBZ Newsgazine. It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other digital media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg and zaobao.com.
On an average day, 2.5 million* individuals or 59 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms. (* Nielsen Media Index 2016, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces about 100 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.com and luxuryinsider.com in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

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

SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.

Properties
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 Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

Other Businesses

Online Classified

SPH's online classifieds include the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs, FastJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds,Trezo), sgCarMart and StreetSine.

SPH's regional joint venture online classified business has a number of leading online classified sites in the region.

Events and Exhibitions
Sphere Exhibits, Sphere Conferences, Exhibits Inc and Bizlink Exhibition Services organise innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region.

Healthcare

SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes.
Education
SPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.