13 June 2012

China Business Network to debut in Singapore by end 2012

Singapore, 13 June 2012 – StarHub and the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) jointly announced today that the all-business news channel focusing on China - China Business Network, will be launched in Singapore by end 2012. With the upcoming launch, Singapore, through StarHub, will be the first country outside China and Hong Kong to showcase the channel.

CBN, under SMG, is China’s pioneer and main TV channel on professional financial and business information, offering up-to-date and accurate news updates in Mandarin. The introduction of CBN will augment StarHub’s already strong news offerings which include Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNN and CCTV News. CBN, which will dish out business and financial news from China, will be welcomed by some 1,500 China enterprises based in Singapore, business owners, investors as well as multi-national corporations who are interested in China’s economy. SMG’s exclusive overseas partner, MyChinaChannel will assist with the logistics and production aspects of the network.

StarHub’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr Tan Tong Hai shared, “China is one of the main economic drivers in the world. This tripartite collaboration between StarHub, SMG and MyChinaChannel could not have come at a better time. There is a growing number of Chinese nationals living and working in Singapore and China enterprises operating in Singapore. These key stakeholders will naturally be concerned about what’s happening back home. And of course, CBN will be an invaluable source of information for Singapore businesses with links to China too. Now, they can easily keep abreast of any news updates on China, simply by tuning in to CBN.”

President of SMG, Mr Qiu Xin expressed, “We are confident that this partnership will be a win-win arrangement as we are tapping into StarHub’s wealth of experience and resources with its excellent track record in the pay TV, mobile and broadband arena. Since the channel will be made available to all StarHub TV customers, there will be more eyeballs on the channel without customers having to incur extra cost, which in turn gives CBN higher exposure.”

CEO of Business China, Ms Low Yen Ling said: “Singapore and China enjoy strong and deep ties in business, culture and leadership. Opportunities for mutual cooperation, exchanges and business will continue to grow as China takes its place on the global centre stage. Having a pulse check on developments in China is especially timely, as the global economy enters a challenging period and China prepares for a leadership transition.”

Mr Chan Chong Beng, President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, and Chairman of Goodrich Global Pte Ltd, welcomed the news on the launch of CBN in Singapore. “The Chinese are changing the world. StarHub’s link-up with CBN will serve as a good platform for businessmen in Singapore to react instantly in a rapid changing Chinese environment,” said Mr Chan.

Mr Melvin Ang, Executive Director of MyChinaChannel enthused: “Our three years of hard work and efforts working closely with both SMG China Business Channel and StarHub are paid-off seeing the plan become a reality. We are confident our audience will have more and timely insights on China business news.”

To reach out to busy professionals, StarHub customers can also catch the CBN news updates on-the-go by tuning in online at starhubtv.com and StarHub TV on Mobile. Customers can access CBN via starhubtv.com by subscribing to the TV Anywhere value-added service which is currently complimentary till 31 October 2012, after which it costs $5.25 (incl. GST) to subscribe every month.

Mr Tan added “In this day and age where information is abundant and everywhere, we want to help to get the right content to the right people, quickly. CBN will serve as an important avenue where investors and business owners can retrieve reliable updates on China in an efficient manner.”

Some of CBN’s key programmes include Managing China, CBN Global Link and Insider Insights on Industry and Corporations.  These programmes engage viewers in terms of its economic, social and cultural facets and offer useful insights into the business world of China. For more information on StarHub TV, visit www.starhub.com/tv. CBN will be made available to all StarHub TV customers at no additional cost.