Lianhe Zaobao launches new online portal zaobao.sg at Zaobao Forum

SINGAPORE - Lianhe Zaobao, the Chinese flagship newspaper of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), will be launching its newest online portal zaobao.sg on 22 November. Online readers will be able to access zaobao.sg when it goes "live" on Friday.

Zaobao.sg is a one-stop information portal for local Zaobao readers. Through this website, readers can gain access to in-depth reports and opinion pieces carefully produced and curated by Zaobao's team of editors and reporters. There will also be breaking news and a newly revamped local stock market microsite.

Mr Goh Sin Teck, Editor of Lianhe Zaobao, said: "Development in technology allows us to further differentiate between markets. Zaobao readers in Singapore can now look forward to an online portal that they can call their own. With a stronger focus on local issues, we hope to foster a stronger relationship with our readers in Singapore."

Zaobao.sg will offer readers information and digital experience which they will not get from the print version. With the launch of zaobao.sg, it brings the newsroom one step further into the digital age. Zaobao.sg will emphasise more on visual elements like photos, videos and interactive media. The website also enhances Zaobao's status as the go-to place for readers to air their views. It will curate hot topics du jour and will invite readers to comment and share their views online.

Through this website, Lianhe Zaobao will not only reach out to young Singaporeans via smart phones, tablets and laptops, it will also help the elderly readers to acquaint themselves with the digital world. It will establish itself as the eminent source of online information for local Chinese readers.

Those who wish to access zaobao.com can also do so via customised links that appear at the top of the zaobao.sg home page. The Lianhe Zaobao newsroom will continue to curate information that is relevant to both local and overseas readers. Users can switch between the home pages of zaobao.sg and zaobao.com with ease. Together with zaobao.com, zaobao.sg will continue to provide online users with Lianhe Zaobao's trusted brand of journalism, in more exciting ways than before.

Dr Zhou Zhao Cheng, Lianhe Zaobao's Online Editor, said: "With local reader's interests firmly in mind, zaobao.sg will be the portal of choice for them to obtain and share information. Users can also actively participate in discussions on zaobao.sg."

Zaobao.sg will be officially launched at The Zaobao Forum on 22 November at SPH News Centre Auditorium. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be the Guest of Honour at the Forum.

The Zaobao Forum, conducted in Mandarin, is held in conjunction with Lianhe Zaobao's 90th anniversary this year.

Mr Goh said: "When Zaobao first embarked on a series of dialogue sessions with cabinet ministers, we realised that providing readers with a platform for such engagement in a language that they are most comfortable in really matters. Hence, the Zaobao Forum is the most natural and fitting choice in deciding upon a finale to our string of celebrations commemorating Zaobao's 90th anniversary. It is Zaobao's honour to have Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the Guest of Honour for the Forum."

The Zaobao Forum is open only to invited readers and guests. Readers can watch a "live" webcast of PM Lee's keynote speech on zaobao.sg. The webcast will commence at 7.45pm on Nov 22. Zaobao.sg will also be providing breaking news updates on the forum discussion.