HONG KONG, 5 April 2016 – South China Morning Post Publishers Limited, Asia’s leading media company, announced today that the online and mobile editions of the South China Morning Post will be free to access with effect from 6pm 5 April 2016. This follows the completion of Alibaba Group’s (NYSE: BABA) acquisition of the 113 year-old South China Morning Post and its associated media assets, from SCMP Group Limited (Stock code: 583).

Concurrent to the paywall removal, a new SCMP Mobile app has been launched. The improved app offers new features including search, personalisation, faster loading time, deep linking from social media and easy navigation. It is available on Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Mobile for immediate download.

Robin Hu, CEO of the South China Morning Post Publishers, said “Alibaba Group’s vision of bringing together SCMP’s heritage and editorial strength together with its technological prowess offers an assuring roadmap for SCMP’s passage into the digital realm with enhanced clarity and boosted confidence.” Tammy Tam, Editor-in-Chief of the South China Morning Post added, “With the paywall removal, it paves the way for the SCMP to grow its readership globally. It is our firm belief that as China plays an increasingly critical role in world politics and the economy, a global community of China stakeholders will demand insightful and trusted news and commentaries from a within-the-region perspective.”

The acquisition, which received approval from the SCMP Group’s shareholders at a Special General Meeting on 14 March, encompasses the SCMP Group’s current media assets. This includes the South China Morning Post, the Sunday Morning Post, digital platforms SCMP.com and related mobile apps, the two Chinese websites Nanzao.com and Nanzaozhinan.com, the Group’s magazine portfolio, recruitment, outdoor media, events & conferences, education and digital media businesses. The magazine portfolio includes HK Magazine and the Hong Kong editions of Esquire, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, The PEAK, Harper’s BAZAAR and their extension titles. The listed company SCMP Group Limited will be renamed Armada Holdings Limited (Stock code: 583) following an affirmative shareholder vote in March.

While content on SCMP’s digital platforms is free to read, the SCMP newspaper as well as the ePaper version, a PDF replica of the SCMP newspaper, will continue to be subscription-based.

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About South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

South China Morning Post Publishers Limited is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, the South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership.

First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, mobile, tablets and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, the South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 160 awards in 2015-16 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capabilities. Other titles in the company include the Sunday Morning Post, Nanzao.com (南早.com), Nanzaozhinan.com (南早香港指南.com), STYLE, Destination Macau, The PEAK, HK Magazine and The List.

Through the joint venture partnership with Hearst, SCMP Hearst publishes the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, CosmoBride, Harper’s BAZAAR, Harper’s BAZAAR Art, Harper’s BAZAAR Bride, Esquire, ELLE, ELLE Men, ELLE Wedding, ELLE Décoration, and ELLE Accessories; and operates Cosmopolitan.com.hk, Cosmogirl.com.hk, Harpersbazaar.com.hk, ELLE.com.hk and EsquireHK.com in Hong Kong.

For further information please contact: [email protected]

HONG KONG, December 3, 2012 – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper South China Morning Post announced the launch of “A Celebration of Food” today, their first major book by Food and Wine Editor and Post Magazine columnist Susan Jung.

Susan Jung, a trained pastry chef and journalist, became South China Morning Post’s Food and Wine Editor in 1997. For “A Celebration of Food” she compiled 60 of her own favourite recipes from her column in Post magazine, plus 20 signature recipes from top chefs around Hong Kong. The recipes are grouped under three categories; family, friends and feasts.

Jung began writing her column for the SCMP’s Post Magazine in 2003, each week showing readers how to make two or three dishes. From the hundreds of creations she has created over the course of more than a decade, she managed to narrow the selection to recipes she really loved making and eating. However, choosing the restaurants to include in this book was more difficult. She started with a list of some of her favourite dishes from restaurants around Hong Kong and went from there. The overriding criterion was what would be possible for the home cook to make.

“I’m extremely grateful to the chefs and restaurateurs who invited me into their kitchens and allowed their recipes to be included in this cookbook,” Jung said. “I learned a lot by talking to and watching them and know their contributions were made not for the purposes of publicity because most are busy enough as it is. They chose to be involved with this book out of generosity and a willingness to share: the very reasons they entered the hospitality business in the first place.”

Jung’s own selection of the 20 top chef’s recipes came from some of Hong Kong’s best restaurants: the Mandarin Grill, Caprice, Ammo, Otto e Mezzo, Cuisine Cuisine at the Mira, II Posto 97, Above & Beyond, Kin’s Kitchen, Bistro Jinli, Tim’s Kitchen, Fan Tang, Fook Lam Moon, Heirloom, Celebrity Cuisine, The Chairman, He Jiang, On Lot 10, Cépage, Yin Yang and Sushi Kuu.

Uwe Opocensky, Executive Chef at the Mandarin Oriental, sees Jung is an inspiration: “not only is she a serious restaurant critic, but as a chef herself she deeply understands food, textures, the marriage of ingredients and how to create fantastic dishes.

Celebrated BBC-TV chef and best-selling author Ken Hom said “Susan Jung has distilled her passion for food in this book filled with easy, clear and mouth-watering recipes. Her wide experience as Food Editor is evident on every page of a book that belongs on every great cook’s shelf.”

A Celebration of Food will be available 4 December onwards at Hong Kong’s major English-language bookstores such as Dymocks, Bookazine, Swindon, Joint Publishing, Commercial Press, Chung Hwa and many more.

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About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other titles in the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

For further information please contact: [email protected] For media queries please contact: Jennifer Shay Head of PR and Corporate Communications / South China Morning Post Publishers Limited Email: [email protected] / +852 2680 8132 Direct Website: www.scmpgroup.com

HONG KONG, November 30, 2012 – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper South China Morning Post is proud to announce that it has won four top awards in the Asian Digital Media Awards held in Kuala Lumpur on 28 November.

The awards, under the auspices of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and in conjunction with Digital Media Asia, include:

Best in Online Media, Gold Award (newspaper websites): www.scmp.com
Best in Online Media, Gold Award (magazine websites): www.elle.com.hk
Best in Online Video, Gold Award: Helene Franchineau, Online Video Reporter, South China Morning Post.
Best in Online Infographics, Bronze Award: South China Morning Post.

“The South China Morning Post is proud to win these digital media awards,” said Robin Hu, Chief Executive Officer of SCMP Group “It is recognition of the skill and hard work of our Online Editorial team and Digital Media team in producing a top quality website.”

WAN-IFRA created the Asian Digital Media Awards, with more than 50 media companies from 16 countries across Asia and the Middle East participating, to recognize the best examples of how individuals and organisations have embraced emerging technology and concepts in Asia.

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation representing the world’s press, in all more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

It has been a year of awards for the South China Morning Post. It picked up 11 awards in the Society of Publishers in Asia Editorial Awards 2012. It also took 10 awards at the Human Rights Press Awards, as well as nine awards in the Society of News Design’s news design competition.

“These awards also recognize that the South China Morning Post is meeting and excelling at the challenge of establishing a high-profile place in the evolving digital media world,” said Etienne Maccario, Director, Digital Business Development “SCMP.com is a modern, fresh and socially driven website, and establishes a high standards starting point for our company, as we embark upon the development of many more exciting digital products.”

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About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other titles in the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

For further information please contact: [email protected] For media queries please contact: Jennifer Shay Head of PR and Corporate Communications / South China Morning Post Publishers Limited Email: [email protected] / +852 2680 8132 Direct Website: www.scmpgroup.com

Hong Kong, October 15, 2012 – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper South China Morning Post announced today that it now offers limited free access to its newly rebuilt and redesigned website, SCMP.com.

The subscriber-only site SCMP.com was rebuilt, redesigned and relaunched in late August, with significant improvements to content and functionality. The site will now allow metered access to non-subscribers, enabling each visitor to view four articles for free per month behind the paywall. A further bonus of four more articles per month will be available to visitors who register their email address.

This is a significant change for the site, which has succeeded in maintaining a loyal paid subscriber base since 2002. Many prominent global news sites, including the New York Times and Financial Times, have recently made the reverse transition from free to paid access, employing a meter.

“The most significant impact of this move,” said Robin Hu, Chief Executive Officer, SCMP Group, “is that we are now searchable and shareable, which is vital for online news consumers today. Although total access will continue to be paid, now anyone interested in our insightful Hong Kong and China news can find us, click us and try us out. From a business point of view, this opens up a much bigger universe for us.”

Unique visitors have grown four times prelaunch levels and pageviews to the paid site have already increased almost threefold since the relaunch. Today’s introduction of metered free access is expected to increase pageviews even more dramatically. Enhanced and more frequently updated content, more intuitive navigation, easier social sharing and smarter article links, plus the availability of an optimized mobile edition at m.scmp.com, have all contributed to a richer and more satisfying user experience.

Further content enhancements include a powerful easy to search archive service that gives readers instant access to 10 years’ content or 750,000+ articles within the South China Morning Post library. The site also features a unique Homepage time machine, recalling the exact Homepage as it appeared up to seven days before.

Photos play a prominent role in the new site. Aside from a generally more attractive visual presentation and a longer page length, the new SCMP.com features a large-format photo gallery that is updated real-time and provides themed photojournalistic essays and easy search options. South China Morning Post’s award winning infographics will also capitalize on the new SCMP.com’s more visual and interactive design capabilities.

Social media plays a stronger role in the new site, which aside from enabling easy share on Facebook, Twitter and Google ⁺, will also introduce a major cast of new bloggers including an exclusive English-language blog from China’s number one blogger Han Han, whose irreverent views of China affairs and the youth generation have captivated a huge online following.

Subscribers, who have full access to both the site and its mobile version from only HK$999 a year, also enjoy a host of other benefits. Daily news alerts begin with a comprehensive morning newsletter to highlight the day’s headlines, an evening newsletter to succinctly wrap up stories as they’ve transpired through the day, and breaking news alerts. Readers can also check out what topics are trending online and in the social sphere.

The South China Morning Post has long held a globally respected position as the most trustworthy and insightful source of information in Hong Kong and China. The revamped SCMP.com is part of its continued effort to uphold its legacy of journalistic excellence, by acknowledging readers’ need for speed, continual updates, richer content and multiple-platform access.

The South China Morning Post website can be viewed at www.scmp.com, the mobile version at m.scmp.com and a full product tour can be seen at www.scmp.com/reborn.

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The New SCMP.com Offering

About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s internationally recognised English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published

in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. The South China Morning Post received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other titles in the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

For further information please contact: Email: [email protected] For media queries please contact: Jennifer Shay Head of PR and Corporate Communications / South China Morning Post Publishers Limited Email: [email protected] / +852 2680 8132 Direct Website: www.scmpgroup.com

Hong Kong, September 17, 2012 – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper South China Morning Post announced today the much anticipated hire of two seasoned editorial heavyweights to boost its newsroom.

Supporting the print newsroom, 16-year Reuters veteran Brian Rhoads has been hired to take over as Managing Editor, reporting to Editor-in-Chief Wang Xiangwei. Mr. Rhoads previously held various senior positions at Reuters, including a 7 year stint as Bureau Chief, China, based in Beijing. He also held the position of Managing Editor, Americas, based in New York and Managing Editor, Asia, leading a multimedia team of over 700 staff. Most recently, he was Bureau Chief, Greater China, based in Hong Kong.

Mr Rhoads is a Stanford University graduate in Political Science and speaks fluent Mandarin.

Supporting the digital newsroom, ex-Daily Mail Online Managing Editor Sarah Graham joins the South China Morning Post team as Managing Editor, SCMP.com to support the newly relaunched site and other digital products. Under Ms Graham’s management, Daily Mail Online underwent a successful transformation in 2008 to become the world’s most popular news website, attracting over 45 million viewers a month.

Ms Graham began her 14-year career in a range of UK-based newspapers, and joined the Daily Mail in 2006. At the South China Morning Post, she will assist Online Editor Wang Feng to manage the digital news team.

Both the South China Morning Post and its subscription-access site SCMP.com have been revamped in the past eighteen months to reflect the needs of today’s newsreader.

SCMP.com was rebuilt, redesigned and relaunched in late August, with significant improvements to speed, content, stability, functionality and mobile accessibility. User feedback to the new site has been extremely positive, and site visits have consistently more than doubled the levels achieved prior to the relaunch.

The print edition of the South China Morning Post maintains a loyal readership of 399,000* and a stable circulation of 108,000**. The newspaper also recently added a mobile website edition at m.scmp.com, filling out its digital portfolio, which also includes a native iPad app.

Wang Xiangwei, the SCMP’s Editor-in-Chief remarked, “The South China Morning Post not only has a greatly valued past heritage; we also have an exciting future ahead of us. Our passion is to deliver the highest quality content, in the most reader friendly formats across all platforms. That means having the right systems, the right technology etc, but most importantly, the right people. I think our ability to attract such world class talent demonstrates the strength of our brand globally, and enables us to continue to build the SCMP legacy for many decades to come.”

The South China Morning Post is widely recognized as the most trustworthy and insightful source of information in the Hong Kong and China region. Winning 55 global, regional and local news excellence awards in the past year, the SCMP has a reputation for exposing hidden stories on Hong Kong and China issues, from being the first newspaper to print excerpts of the controversial Li Peng diaries, to exposing the scandal behind China hospitals profiting from stem cells harvested from induced abortions, an article that won a globally coveted journalism award.

The South China Morning Post website can be viewed at www.scmp.com, the mobile version at m.scmp.com and a full product tour can be seen at www.scmp.com/reborn.

* Statistic from Nielsen Media Index Year end 2011
** HKABC audited circulation figure

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About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com

For further information please contact: Email: [email protected]

Hong Kong, August 31, 2012 – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper South China Morning Post launched today its newly rebuilt and redesigned website, SCMP.com.

The site, which continues to be largely subscriber-only access, has been brought up to date with significantly enhanced and more frequently updated content, more intuitive navigation, easier social sharing and smarter article links. A key new addition includes the availability of an optimized mobile edition at m.scmp.com, which can be accessed by subscribers on any internet-enabled smartphone.

Further content enhancements include a powerful easy to search archive service that gives readers instant access to 10 years’ or 750,000+ articles. For more recent searches, an innovative new feature is the Homepage time machine, which enables users to view each day’s homepage exactly as it was seen up to seven days prior.

Photos play a prominent role in the new site. Aside from a generally more visual presentation and a longer page length, the new SCMP.com features a large format photo gallery that is updated real-time and provides themed photojournalistic essays and easy search options. South China Morning Post’s award winning infographics will also capitalize on the new SCMP.com’s more visual and interactive design capabilities.

Social media plays a stronger role in the new site, which aside from enabling easy share on Facebook, Twitter and Google +, will also introduce a major cast of new bloggers including a blog in English language from China’s number one blogger Han Han, whose irreverent views of China affairs and the youth generation have captivated a huge online following.

South China Morning Post’s Digital Editor, Wang Feng, was newly appointed in April this year to spearhead the content direction for the site. Previously an editor for Thomson Reuters Chinese News Service and an International Editor at Caijing magazine, Wang Feng was hired to deliver quality regional news 24/7 to an audience of Hong Kong and China watchers all over the world.

He remarked; “Our new site is not only built on a much more robust platform, giving our readers a better experience, it’s also packed with more content. Content that’s been designed especially for online to capitalize on the latest visual and presentation capabilities.”

“Now we can tell our stories in a richer and more graphic way, and drive readers to stories that are more relevant to them. We’ll be right at the point of action and deliver news more rapidly. We’ll tap the pulse of the community through social sharing. We’ll also be providing a better email notification system, with a morning newsletter to highlight the day’s headlines, an evening newsletter to succinctly wrap up stories as they’ve transpired through the day, and breaking news alerts. Readers can also check out what topics are trending online and in the social sphere.”

Mr Robin Hu, SCMP Group’s CEO, commented, “We are very excited to introduce the new SCMP.com. This is a much improved site with considerable potential to grow locally and overseas, especially given the global demand for news in our region. Online readers are increasingly used to paying for quality content, and we have been running a successful subscription model since the site originally launched in 1996. We believe the site offers excellent value, and together with the new mobile edition, plus Print and iPad editions, we now have a deeper portfolio of products which each deliver valued content and a unique experience.”

The site can be viewed at www.scmp.com, the mobile version at m.scmp.com and a full product tour can be seen at www.scmp.com/reborn.

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About The SCMP Group

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for editorial excellence. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, LuxeHomes, Classified Post, JiuJik, smartjob.com, and the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, CosmoGirl!, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

Media enquiries: Email: [email protected]

Hong Kong, August 22, 2012 – SCMP Group Ltd (SEHK:583) announced today the interim results for 2012. Net profit for the first half of the year was $184.0million, compared with $249.0million for the same period in 2011. Revenue for the first half was $458.1million, 3% higher than last year.

The increase in revenue was mainly driven by higher advertising sales from its magazine publishing business, while revenue from its newspaper publishing business for the six months ended 30 June 2012 was flat to last year at $370.4million.

However, the net profit of the group from normal business operations (taking out the fair value gains on investment properties), dropped 35% to $61.9million as compared with first half last year, largely due to a decline in recruitment services revenue, a reduction in IPO advertising revenue and an increase in operating expenses, which included the staffing resources to support the group’s growing digital portfolio.

Earnings per share declined to 11.8cents from 16.0cents for the same period the year prior. Dividend payable per share will be 3.0cents.

The overall strength of its newspaper products continued as the un-audited first half 2012 HKABC* circulation figures for South China Morning Post and Sunday Morning Post increased by 7% and 10% to 108,881 and 89,212 respectively as compared with same period last year. Its magazines division reported growth in advertising revenue across all titles.

CEO Robin Hu remarked “Economic jitters caused by the weakening of the China economy and the Eurozone crisis have had some impact during the first half of 2012. Nonetheless, we managed to deliver steady results and are carefully priming our business to ensure financial stability in the second half. We are fortunate to see growth in the luxury retail sector, and have had success in our magazine publishing and contract printing businesses. We’re weathering challenges with resilience, while continuing to roll out both new and enhanced digital media products to meet changing media consumption behaviour.”

The group recently extended its partnership with Hearst Magazines International in the form of joint venture company, SCMP Hearst Hong Kong Ltd, to publish ELLE and Elle.com.hk. This added to an existing strong line up of women’s magazines, Cosmopolitan, CosmoGirl! and Harper’s Bazaar.

The group also recently extended a contract printing agreement with the local Chinese free newspaper am730 to a sizeable long term contract starting Q3 2013.

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About The SCMP Group

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for editorial excellence. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, LuxeHomes, Classified Post, JiuJik, smartjob.com, and the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, CosmoGirl!, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

Media enquiries: Email: [email protected] * Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations Ltd

Hong Kong, June 20, 2012 – The South China Morning Post has for over a hundred years prided itself on its trusted and authoritative reporting. This remains our legacy, our strength and our purpose.

We staunchly defend the press freedom we enjoy in Hong Kong and freedom of speech among all its citizens, especially among our own reporters.

Recent local media reports regarding our coverage of hanging of dissident Li Wangyang have called into question our integrity and willingness to report openly on a sensitive matter.

In fact, the story was reported extensively in our newspaper, in no less than three front pages, two leaders, plus several other prominent positions including two articles by the Editor-in-chief, Wang Xiangwei. However, on the day the news broke in other media, the Editor-in-chief gave priority to another news item, until more facts and detail surrounding the circumstances of this case could be established. This is regular and responsible editorial practice for a trustworthy news organization.

We assure our readers that factual, balanced and investigative reporting will always be our focus.

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About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

Hong Kong, June 19, 2012 – SCMP Group Ltd (SEHK:583) and Hearst Magazines International, a unit of Hearst Corporation, today announced the formation of joint venture company, SCMP Hearst Hong Kong Ltd to publish ELLE and related titles, its website, the Car and Driver website, as well as taking on further custom publishing business from 3^rd July 2012.

This move further reinforces the longstanding relationship SCMP Group Ltd has with its joint venture partner Hearst Corporation. The two companies began their publishing venture in Hong Kong with the launch of the Hong Kong edition of Cosmopolitan in 1984, followed by Harper’s Bazaar in 1988, and CosmoGIRL! in 2001. The three titles have now become Hong Kong’s leading women’s magazines in respective market segments.

ELLE, a brand owned by Lagardere Active, is the world’s largest fashion magazine brand with 43 international editions reaching over 21 million people across the globe from the UK to the USA, Europe to Africa, South America, Russia, Asia and the Middle East.

Adding ELLE to its magazine portfolio ensures that SCMP Hearst will cement its position as the premier publisher of quality international lifestyle publications in Hong Kong.

Duncan Edwards, president and CEO of Hearst Magazines International, said, “Through our partnership with SCMP, we are already publishing a very successful edition of Cosmopolitan and we’re confident that this move will take ELLE in Hong Kong to even greater success than before.”

Josephine Chan, director for SCMP Magazines Publishing Ltd added, “It’s a very natural fit for us to welcome ELLE into our portfolio of magazine titles. We’ve enjoyed a great partnership with Hearst over the years, and our existing titles continue to grow from strength to strength, both in print and digital. We have a dedicated team that knows the fashion, beauty and style market in Hong Kong better than anyone, and they’re all excited to be able to both leverage and grow their expertise with ELLE.”

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About The SCMP Group

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, Luxehomes, Classified Post, JiuJik, smartjob.com, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

About Lagardère Active

Lagardère Active is one of Lagardère SCA’s four corporate branches, together with Lagardère Publishing (books), Lagardère Services (press distribution and services) and Lagardère Unlimited (marketing and management of sports broadcast rights, talent representation for athletes and artists). Creator of multimedia content, Lagardère Active has leading positions in the businesses it operates, including magazines publishing, audio-visual (radio, TV and TV production), digital (pure players sites, mobile applications and tablet applications) and advertising.Lagardere Active, the number one of French Magazine Publisher and owner of the ELLE brand and its derivatives, licenses them:
– To Hearst in 14 countries (corresponding to 15 editions of ELLE).
– To 26 other partners (corresponding to 27 editions of ELLE).
The ELLE network today includes 43 international editions and the ELLE Decoration network includes 25 international editions.

About Hearst Magazines International

As the largest U.S. publisher of magazines worldwide, Hearst Magazines International, a unit of Hearst Corporation, publishes more than 300 editions for distribution in more than 100 countries. Major titles include powerful brand equities like Cosmopolitan and ELLE, both international super-brands with more editions than any other women’s magazines in the world; ELLE DECOR, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s BAZAAR, Popular Mechanics, and Seventeen. In addition, Hearst Magazines International publishes other titles through joint ventures, including Men’s Health and Runner’s World in the U.K., Grazia and Madison in Australia, and The Robb Report in Russia and China. In Great Britain, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Hearst Magazines UK, publishes 24 magazines and 22 websites. Hearst Magazines publishes 20 titles in the U.S.

For enquiries please contact: Media Enquiries: Director of Marketing Anne Wong [email protected]

Hong Kong, June 11, 2012 – South China Morning Post last night reaffirmed its legacy of editorial excellence with the winning of five top prizes and six honourable mentions at the Society of Publishers in Asia Editorial Awards 2012.

South China Morning Post dominated in the breaking news category with two wins; top prize went to Shi Jiangtao and Will Clem for their insightful report on the Wenzhou rail disaster and runner up prize went to Clifford Lo, Simpson Cheung, Jennifer Ngo, Lo Wei, Amy Nip, Olga Wong and Yvonne Liu on their ensemble reporting on the Mongkok fire tragedy.

Shi Jiangtao also won top honours in Environmental Reporting for his report with Paul Mooney on Heavy Metals, an expose on the devastating impact of heavy metal mining in China. Simon Scarr, already a multiple award winner for his infographics in the South China Morning Post, chalked up another accolade at the SOPA Awards with his “7 Billion Who Shape The World” work.

SCMP long-time cartoonist Harry Harrison earned top Editorial Cartooning recognition for his Beijing Spring series, and Denise Tsang, Senior Business Reporter, won the Business Reporting award of excellence for her reports on “The Cost of Making it in Guangdong”.

Further honourable mentions went to Neil Gough, for “Family Turmoil at the House of Ho” in the Scoop Award category and Cheung Chi Fai for “Secret Village Land Deals” in the Investigative Reporting category. “90 Years of Communism in China” gave Alex Nicoll, Stephen Case, Simon Scarr and Joe Lo an honourable mention for best Multimedia News Presentation, and Catherine Tai, Post Magazine’s art director received a mention for her magazine design for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Jennifer Huang also earned a mention in the lifestyle coverage category for her article about lead contaminated ceramics, “Poisoned chalices”.

The Society of Publishers in Asia is a non-profit regional body incorporated in Hong Kong in 1982. Its board and awards sub-committee comprise editors, executives and academics in the field of publishing and journalism across Asia, and entries for the Awards span regional editions of the top name international newspapers, news agency services plus local and regional titles. Over the past few years, South China Morning Post has consistently ranked amongst the highest in number of accolades received by a single publication in the SOPA Awards, reinforcing its position as one of the most respected newspapers for editorial excellence in the region.

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About SCMP Group Ltd and South China Morning Post

SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.

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