Hong Kong’s oldest Chinese-language newspaper Sing Pao avoids closure after High Court orders liquidation of parent company

The city’s oldest Chinese-language newspaper, Sing Pao Daily News, has narrowly avoided going out of print permanently after the High Court on Wednesday ruled its debt-laden parent company should be liquidated.

Master Reuden Lai Tat-cheung gave the order for Sing Pao Media Enterprises to be wound up after a petitioner reported to the court that the company had failed to repay debts.

Other creditors had no objection to the order.

The court appointed Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong Wing-sze from auditor KPMG as provisional liquidators for the company last month. On Wednesday Lai told them to take appropriate action within seven days.

But the liquidators announced that “the liquidation of the holding company will have no impact on the  … publication of Sing Pao Daily News and magazines, which are conducted through wholly owned subsidiaries”.

They said a revised offer of investment from company chairman Gu Zhuoheng had been accepted on July 31 to enable the essential operations of the subsidiaries to continue.

In court, Lai revealed that Wong had submitted an affidavit on Tuesday related to the petition to close the firm. But the document “should not be inspected by any party without the leave of the court”, he added, without elaborating.  The petition was submitted by creditor Korchina Culture Investment in April.