Draft:Jit Poh Building

The Jit Poh Building, formerly the Sin Chew Jit Poh Building, is a building at the junction of Keppel Road and Cantonment Road in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore. It previously housed the head offices of Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh.

History

Construction on the 11-storey Sin Chew Jit Poh Building, which was the first phase of a $12 million project which also included a carpark and apartments, had already begun by January 1973. The ground, first and second floors were to house the head offices of Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh, which was to move into the building early next year. Goss-Metro printing machines were to be installed to "modernise" the newspaper's printing press. The remaining floors of the building were to be rented out as office space. The building was completed in early 1976. It also housed an exhibition hall and the Sin Chew Jit Poh Cultural Activities Centre.

In March 1983, both the Sin Chew Jit Poh and the Nanyang Siang Pau ceased publication, after which they merged to form the Lianhe Zaobao and the Lianhe Wanbao. The offices at the Sin Chew Jit Poh Building were vacated, with the new offices being at Alexandra Road. The building was then renamed the Jit Poh Building. It underwent a facelift, with the brass columns with travertine marble being replaced by concrete whitewashed walls. By then, the building had already been acquired by prominent hotelier and developer Ho Whye Chung for $9.5 million.

In February 1990, Ho announced that he would be putting the building, which was then nearly fully-tenanted, up for sale for $90 million. Most of the tenants at the time were shipping companies, such as American President Lines, and businesses related to shipping. The tender was to close on 22 March. However, the building had yet to be sold by May, with the highest bidder being an Indonesian company who offerred over $85 million.