Thread by @TheKenWeb

- Paragon Mall
- Capitol Students
- The Clementi Mall
- Orange Valley nursing home
- Westfield Marion Shopping
Centre
- Student Castle

These are all brands that belong to one Singaporean company.

Its name?

Singapore Press Holdings.

Confused? 🤔

#Thread

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) is one of Asia’s leading media organisations. It has a sprawling media business, including newspapers, magazines, and radio stations.

In the last two decades, however, SPH has started looking more like a property company.

Along with marquee newspapers The Straits Times and The Business Times, SPH’s portfolio also includes seven shopping malls across Singapore and Australia, three student accommodation brands in the UK and Germany, and five nursing home operators in Singapore and Japan.

And here’s the kicker: SPH’s property vertical contributes to 80% of its total profits.

You can almost call it Singapore Property Holdings.

SPH’s media unit has seen its print circulation decline for years now. The company has also laid off over 200 people from its newsrooms since October 2017.

It was clear why SPH was banking on property.

But that was before #Covid19 threw a spanner in the works.

With shopping malls forced to shut, and students returning home as universities shifted their classes online, SPH’s property vertical has been wobbling.

Since then, the company has been trying to lean on its media pillar. And it’s trying to go the digital way.

Partnerships with Samsung and Google are just some of the ways SPH is trying to manoeuvre its ship through the #Covid19 storm.

But, as @Benjcher writes in today’s story, it’s not going to be an easy journey.

the-ken.com/sea/story/8020…