Bidding adieu to the idea of a core business - for now

WHEN Singapore Press Holdings put its landmark Times House site up for sale years ago, a senior executive vice-president then said: "We consider property assets as non-core and have said that we will divest them in a manner that would maximise shareholders' value."

That was back in 2003.

Today, the group, which still publishes this newspaper and bills itself "Asia's leading media organisation", has three shopping centres and one condominium under its belt - to say nothing of its nursing home and pre-school investments.