Shareholders agreement makes it clear about funding

THE INDEPENDENT – SINGAPORE

1. We refer to the statement from the Media Development Authority issued on 29 July 2013 regarding The Independent, which operates theindependent.sg
2. The Independent is a new Singaporean media brand that aims to provide responsible, intelligent & robust journalism to the Singapore public.
3. The Board and core team behind The Independent consists of Singaporeans. There is no foreigner in this team, nor has there ever been. The identities of The Independent’s core team have been posted on its website since June 2013.
4. The founding shareholder’s agreement for The Independent, dated19 April 2013 states very clearly that the shareholders to this enterprise is restricted to Singapore Citizens/Permanent Residents or Singapore Registered Businesses/ Companies/ Societies, that is, The Independent expressly  prohibits the acceptance of foreign funding and has taken cognizance of the relevant provisions of Section 43 of the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28). The said relevant clause in the said agreement was voluntarily agreed to by the founding team of The Independent prior to any discussion on registration and commencement of the venture.
5. The core team of The Independent includes two former journalists with Singapore’s mainstream media institutions – Mr PN Balji, the former CEO and Editor of Today newspaper, and Mr Edmund Wee, a former Straits Times journalist and editor.
6. We would like to highlight that the posture of The Independent is and has always been to be a purely Singaporean-funded media operation which does not accept foreign funds, was formulated and documented 19 April 2013, that is at an early stage of the venture’s formation.
7. We are pleased to register under Section 9 of the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28) and to comply with all laws, rules, regulations and code of practice in place to regulate broadcasting in Singapore.
8. The Independent has not and will not ever come under the influence of, foreign entities or funding.

Issued by: The Management of The Independent, Singapore