August 11, 2003 - The Straits Times Weekly Edition, which has kept thousands of overseas Singaporeans abreast with happenings back home and around the region for nearly 16 years, will cease publication from September 1, 2003.

Launched on September 5, 1987, the 16-page weekly is a tabloid version of The Straits Times broadsheet, which carries the top news events of the week, with a good mix of commentaries and human-interest stories. It has sections such as prime, home, commentary and analysis, Insight, South-East Asia, money and sports, as well as a forum page.

The ST Weekly, with a weekly circulation of about 3,500 copies, is sold in Singapore at $1.20 a copy and is popular in Australia, England and the United States. It is also read by locals who want a summary of the week's key news events.

In a letter to subscribers, The Straits Times editor Han Fook Kwang said the decision to stop publishing the ST Weekly was made after "much deliberation and with considerable regret".

With the increasing popularity of the Internet, the majority of overseas readers are now turning to the Straits Times Interactive (STI) for news and information.

"We've served our overseas readers well with the weekly but these days you can't beat the STI if you want to know the latest news. That's why circulation of the weekly has been falling and it is only a matter of time before we shut it down. We decided to bite the bullet this year." said Mr Han.

The STI, which was launched in December 1995, carries articles from the daily print edition of The Straits Times, and has a host of multimedia and interactive features. One of the premier news sites in Asia, it now garners some 30 million pageviews and 1.1 million unique visitors a month. Its chatboards and live webchats have also attracted more than 300,000 registered users. The site is updated daily with the print edition stories and also throughout the day with up-to-the-minute breaking news. Readers can also search its archive for stories published in the last three days.

All subscribers of the weekly will be refunded the balance of their subscription payment. Overseas readers can visit the STI at http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg for their news and information needs.

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited

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Main board listed Singapore Press Holdings Limited is the leading news and information provider, offering quality content for print, Internet, TV and radio. It publishes 15 newspapers in the four official languages and six lifestyle periodicals. Everyday, 2.78 million individuals, or 90 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of 14 newspapers published by SPH while online publication of its six main dailies enjoy some 120 million pageviews a month. SPH has ventured into the broadcast medium and operates two popular free-to-air TV channels, Channel U in Chinese and Channel i in English. It also operates two entertainment radio channels, UFM 100.3 FM in Chinese and WKRZ 91.3 FM in English, under a joint venture company UnionWorks with NTUC Media.