SPH Media launches multilingual editions of its key news titles, opening up new perspectives to wider audiences

The initiative marks a step towards SPH Media’s ambition to make its key news titles available in Singapore’s four official languages, expanding readers’ access to diverse community perspectives in their preferred languages.

Singapore, 5 November 2026 - SPH Media (SPH), Singapore’s trusted national news company, took a major step towards making journalism across its newsrooms accessible to more Singaporeans, through AI-powered translations that will allow readers to discover a wider range of stories, insights, and perspectives previously available only in other languages.

The initiative reflects SPH’s ambition to bring Singapore's diverse language communities closer together by enabling readers to better understand how others see the world, the issues that matter to them, and the perspectives that shape their communities.

SPH will progressively make its key news titles available in Singapore’s four official languages, which will allow readers to access stories in their preferred languages.

Through this initiative, English-language titles such as The Business Times (BT) and The Straits Times (ST) have launched their Chinese editions (in March 2026 and 28 October 2026 respectively), while publications in vernacular languages, starting with Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB), are introducing English editions.

The launch of LHZB's English edition today, which is available at www.zaobao.com.sg/en, marks the latest milestone in this effort. The launch event was graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as Guest-of-Honour.

Mr Kuek Yu Chuang, Managing Director of SPH, said: “Each of our newsrooms brings its own expertise, voice and understanding of the communities it serves. We want more people to benefit from that reporting, including readers who may not be familiar with the language in which a story was first published.

“By making more of these stories accessible across languages, we hope to help readers see issues from different perspectives and better understand one another. In a country with different languages and cultures, shared stories enrich the multicultural fabric that bind Singaporeans closely together.”

Opening up new perspectives to more readers

LHZB's English edition will introduce English-speaking readers to a curated selection of its original Chinese-language reporting, commentary and perspectives, including stories that reflect the experiences and concerns of Singapore's Chinese-speaking community.

Ms Lee Huay Leng, Editor-in-Chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, said: "We believe that English translations can help younger audiences discover and appreciate Zaobao’s journalism, including those who may not yet be comfortable reading complex articles in Chinese. We see this initiative not as a replacement for Chinese-language journalism, but as another way of bringing its value to a wider audience.”

For ST and BT, Chinese translations will similarly allow readers to access reporting, analysis and commentary from SPH’s English-language newsrooms, extending their reach to audiences who may be more comfortable reading in Chinese.

Mr Wong Wei Kong, Editor-in-Chief of SPH’s English, Malay and Tamil Media Group, said: “ST and BT provide in-depth reporting and analysis about issues that matter to Singaporeans, from developments at home to major events shaping the region and the world. Making this journalism available in Chinese allows us to share that knowledge and expertise more widely, so that more readers can benefit from the work of our journalists, regardless of their preferred reading language.”

Leveraging technology to connect communities

SPH adopts a tailored approach to AI translation, selecting models based on the language pairs, editorial requirements and needs of each publication, allowing the company to draw on the strengths of different technologies.

ST and BT are using AI Singapore’s (AISG) SEA-LION large language model to automate article translation. SEA-LION is designed to better understand Southeast Asian languages and cultural contexts, helping it account for regional linguistic nuances and cultural references when translating news. SPH is working with AISG to leverage its expertise in Southeast Asian languages and AI, with both parties committed to improving translation quality as the initiative develops.

Mr Wong added: “We are grateful to AISG for its collaboration in bringing this initiative to life. Its expertise in developing AI models for Southeast Asian languages has been valuable in helping us make our journalism more accessible, and we look forward to continuing to work together to improve the quality of our translations.”

LHZB’s English edition leverages frontier AI translation models, and will be supported by a team of copy-editors who review selected translated content for cultural context and clarity prior to publication.

As AI translation technology continues to evolve, SPH will continue to refine its translation offerings and welcome readers' feedback on any inaccuracies or areas for improvement.

SPH's multilingual initiative serves as a bridge to original stories produced by its journalists, while preserving the distinctive editorial identity, investigative focus and dedicated community coverage of each publication. By bringing these stories and perspectives to readers across language barriers, SPH hopes to foster greater understanding and appreciation of Singapore's diverse communities.

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