Oriental to get benefits of victory in price war

ORIENTAL Press Group publishes newspapers and magazines including Oriental Daily News, Oriental Sunday, Sun Racing Journal, Eastweek and Eastern Express.

It is also involved in property investment and building management.

Brokerage ING Barings says the stock is a 'buy' as it has emerged a victor from the newspaper price war and will benefit from an upturn in advertising expenditure.

The group's flagship Oriental Daily News remains the best-selling Chinese language daily newspaper in Hong Kong with a circulation of 600,000, twice that of its nearest competitor, Apple Daily. Oriental Daily initiated a price war last December to publicise its revamped paper and ward off competition.

It has maintained its dominant grasp on the market.

Apple Daily has yet to reach profitability and its long-term potential is questionable given proprietor Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's unstable relationship with China.

Oriental Press will be a major beneficiary of the rebound in advertising, with advertising volume already up 12 per cent in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis.

Rent from the company's property investment portfolio will provide a steady source of income of about $64 million a year.