Josephine Teo on funding support for SPH Media Trust

The Government will set aside up to S$180 million of funding support for SPH Media Trust (SMT) annually over the next five years. This will provide SMT with more capital to invest in the future while ensuring that it is able to sustain current operations during its critical transition period. In its initial years, SMT is expected to spend approximately 40 per cent of the funding on tech investments and digital talent. The remainder will be spent on newsroom capability building and training, in particular the vernacular newsrooms. Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo said this in reply to MPs' questions in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 15). She said the direction that SMT is charting out is "promising" but it will require significant investments over a period of time. During the transition, it will likely be loss-making. She said the Government is ready to support SMT's transformation and safeguard the information space for citizens. Mrs Teo said SMT has to provide progress updates on a half-yearly basis. The Government will also review the funding quantum after the first five years, based on the progress of SMT.