SPH directors, senior management take pay cuts

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) announced on Thursday that its board members will take a voluntary 10 per cent reduction in directors' fees, and the salary of those in senior management will be cut.

The move comes as "an expression of sympathy and solidarity with fellow Singaporeans facing the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic," said SPH, which owns The Business Times, in a statement. 

SPH chief executive officer Ng Yat Chung will take a pay cut of 10 per cent; senior management staff will have their salaries cut by 5 per cent.  The cuts start next month and will be reviewed at the end of the year.

"The global pandemic has affected our businesses and posed challenges to our stakeholders. We have volunteered the pay cuts to better position ourselves to ride out this difficult time with our stakeholders," said Mr Ng. 

Separately, SPH Foundation will be donating S$100,000 to The Courage Fund to help families, individuals and those at the frontline who are affected by the ongoing pandemic. 

Said SPH chairman Lee Boon Yang: "The ongoing Covid-19 public health crisis has severely impacted Singapore's economic performance. SPH is not immune to the coronavirus' impact. The fee and pay cut is a gesture of the Board and senior management team's resolve to navigate these difficult times together with our stakeholders."

Earlier initiatives by SPH to help those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak include donations and a partnership with Samsung to give out its News Tablet and digital subscriptions to patients and individuals who are being isolated or quarantined in the hospitals and quarantine centres.