17 November 2004 – Two founding members of the Singapore Press Holdings Limited's Board of Directors, who have between them served the media group for nearly 50 years, will be stepping down next month.

The SPH Board of Directors today announced that Dr Michael Fam, 77, and Mr Tang I-Fang, 80, have indicated their desire not to seek re-election at the Company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 6 December 2004.

Both Dr Fam and Mr Tang have been with the Board since SPH was established in August 1984. Before that, Dr Fam was a Director of the Straits Times Group in 1974.





Mr Lim Chin Beng, Chairman of SPH said: "It is with much regret that the SPH Directors accept their decision to step down. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our deepest appreciation and profound thanks to Dr Fam and Mr Tang for their long and distinguished service to the Board. Their unswerving support, invaluable contributions and counsel to the Board have served SPH well."

Dr Fam is one of the most prominent figures in the Singapore business and government circles and has a distinguished record of public service. His long list of offices include chairmanship of Singapore Airlines Limited, the Housing & Development Board, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, and the Council of Nanyang Technological University. He has also been a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers. In the mid-1970s he chaired a Government-appointed Board to restore the fortunes of Haw Par Brothers International Limited. He acted for a brief period as de-facto CEO of SPH in 1985-86.

Dr Fam is presently Executive Chairman of Fraser & Neave Ltd, Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd and Centrepoint Properties Ltd.

Mr Tang, who is Executive Chairman of WBL Corporation Ltd and Chairman of United Engineers Ltd, also has had a distinguished career in the private and public sectors. Known for his brilliant transformation of Wearne Brothers from a car distributor into a Singapore multinational, the China-born mechanical engineer by training came to Singapore in 1960 as a member of the United Nations Industrial Team led by the late Dr Albert Winsemius.

He has served as Chairman of the Economic Development Board and the Jurong Town Corporation, and is presently chairman and a board member of several companies.

Both Dr Fam and Mr Tang have been voted Businessman of the Year, the former in 1985 and the latter, in 1989, in the annual Singapore Business Awards.

On his decision to step down from the SPH Board, Dr Fam said: "I was appointed a Director of the Straits Times Group in 1974, so I can say that I have had the privilege of serving the SPH Group for 30 years. This has been a most satisfying experience for me. I am retiring from the Board with every confidence that SPH remains in capable hands and I wish it every success in the future.”

Said Mr Tang: "Media business is driven by creativity. I have been fortunate to be on the SPH Board for 20 exciting years to see this creative company grow from strength to strength. Today, the resource-rich SPH is focusing on enhancing its shareholders value as well as on developing Singapore into a media hub for the region."

As part of the continuing renewal process, SPH appointed Professor Cham Tao Soon as Deputy Chairman and Mr Willie Cheng Jue Hiang as a Director in March 2004. SPH Chairman Mr Lim said the new Board aims to serve SPH with equal distinction.

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E

For more information, please contact:

Irene Ngoo
Assistant Vice President
Corporate Relations
Singapore Press Holdings
DID: 63191216
Fax: 6319 8150
Email: ingoo@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings:
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 14 newspapers in the four official languages and 63 magazine titles. Everyday, 2.8 million individuals, or 90 per cent of people in Singapore above 15 years old, read one of the SPH publications, while the online editions of its main dailies and magazines enjoy some 300 million pageviews a month and reach out to a 4 million-strong global audience. SPH operates two popular free-to-air TV channels, Channel U in Chinese and Channel i in English, as well as 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. For more information about SPH, please log on to www.sph.com.sg