Journalists protest against media suppression in China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Media Chinese International is the publisher of Ming Pao Weekly and its subsidiary, One Media Group Ltd, sold 73.01 percent of its shares to the mainland SOE.
The acquisition includes the Hong Kong publications and all related digital business.
Ming Pao publishes five Chinese language newspapers including the Ming Pao Daily News. The company also publishes two editions in Canada.
Ming Pao Daily News had a slew of controversies during its life as an independent news outfit. In 2014, former editor in chief Kevin Lau was stabbed while eating in a restaurant in Hong Kong.
It was speculated that the incident was in connection with an expose that the paper was running at that time. The expose involved offshore accounts of members of the Communist Party and relatives of President Xi Jinping.
Ming Pao Weekly is an entertainment and lifestyle magazine targeting middle-class readers. It is considered the main revenue producer of the media company.
The Qingdao West Coast Development Group is an investment company set up by the Qingdao government in 2012 with a startup capital of 10 billion yuan. Their main investment involves infrastructure development projects.
Various media companies are being bought by bigger entities. Recently, Alibaba bought assets of the South China Morning Post Group for HK$2.06 billion.
Victor Fung Keung, a principal lecturer at the Communication School of Hong Kong Baptist University, said that investments in the Hong Kong media industry will be a continuing trend.
He said, "It is a trend for mainland companies to invest in the Hong Kong media industry. In the next 10 years, 80 percent of local media will be supported by capital from the mainland."
The lecturer said that this is a good training ground for mainland companies who intend to expand to the global media industry.
