Chinese media tycoon Tiong Hiew King has become one of the largest shareholders in rival media group Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd.

The Nanyang Press annual report lists Tiong's Pemandangan Sinar Sdn Bhd and Tiong Toh Siong Holdings Sdn Bhd as the 12th and 13th-largest shareholders.

As they hold 0.30 and 0.26 percent of shares respectively, Tiong effectively controls at least 0.56 percent of Nanyang shares.

Pemandangan Sinar is the publisher of two major Chinese newspapers Sin Chew Daily and Guang Ming Daily . Tiong Toh Siong Holdings is a Sarawak-based timber exporter.

The annual report, released last November, also names low-profile businessman Mah Keng Hock's New Paragon Limited as the second-largest shareholder with a total stake of 23.8 percent.

Ever since Mah bought the shares last August, speculation has been rife that he was acting as a proxy for Tiong, who wished to avoid a public outcry against Pemandangan Sinar's potential monopoly of the Chinese newspaper market.

Pemandangan Sinar was rumoured to have been working with MCA in the party's acquisition of Nanyang Press publisher of Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press in May 2001. This was denied at the time.

Pre-tax profit

The annual report says the largest shareholder in Nanyang Press remains MCA's investment arm Huaren Management Sdn Bhd, which now has a 45 percent stake.

Kurnia Insurans Bhd was identified as the fourth-largest shareholder with 4.73 percent of shares. MCA-run co-operative society Kooperasi Serbaguna Malaysia Bhd is in 11th spot with 0.32 percent.

The report adds that Nanyang Press recorded a pre-tax profit of RM23.9 million for the financial year ended June 30, a dramatic improvement against a loss of RM1.6 million the year before.

Shortly after Huaren Management disposed of over 45 percent of Nanyang shares between June and August last year, MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik had said he did not know the identity of the buyers.

"There are so many buyers, how do you expect us to remember all the names? The identities of the buyers do not matter," he said.

Suspicion confirmed

Tiong ( picture ), a close associate of Ling, has been said to have harboured ambitions of taking over Nanyang Press to fulfil his vision of developing a 'global Chinese media network'.

Chinese news magazine Perspektif Pedas editor Yong Kai Ping said Tiong's purchase of Nanyang Press shares confirms that Pemandangan Sinar was involved in the May 2001 takeover exercise.

"Pemandangan Sinar claimed to be innocent at the time. It is clear that (this) was deception of the public," he said when contacted.

"Tiong has never stopped thinking about acquiring Nanyang Press, but could not do it then because of public protests."

He said preparations by KTS Group to launch a new Chinese daily since early last year may have created a sense of insecurity in Tiong, who then moved to buy Nanyang shares without further delay.

KTS, owned by Tiong's business rival Lau Hui Kang, publishes Oriental Daily News . It had its soft launch last September in selected parts of Malaysia, but its publishing permit was suspended the same day. The permit was re-issued in December and it resumed publication last week.

Yong said Tiong's acquisition of shares in Nanyang could affect the Chinese community's perceptions of Sin Chew , the country's best-selling Chinese daily.

"This will make more readers question the integrity of Sin Chew . Already, a lot of people are speculating about the company's (alleged) involvement in (applying) pressure on newspaper vendors nationwide not to distribute Oriental Daily ," he added.