A company registered in the British Virgin Islands is backing the latest entrant into Hong Kong's crowded newspaper scene, sparking questions about its motives in a market where it risks big losses.
Organisers of the Hong Kong Morning News insist it has no links with the mainland.
"Hong Kong needs a balanced paper with credibility amid this media ecology," they said yesterday in a statement co-signed by Wong Yeung-ng, former editor in chief of the Oriental Daily News.
But Chinese University journalism professor Clement So York-kee said he was surprised by the venture.
"There are no economic incentives to invest in a new paper as the market for both paid and free papers is saturated. The future will be very bleak," he said, adding that it was tempting to speculate there was a non-economic mission.
Reports of the new venture have been circulating for some time, but there had been no confirmation before yesterday's statement.
The statement rebutted accusations it was mainland-backed, saying the paper, formed by a group of veteran journalists, was financed by local funds with no mainland connections. The signatories said they regretted reports that mixed them up with leftist papers.