HONG KONG/NEW YORK -- The South China Morning Post, the 118-year-old Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group Holding, sought to dismiss reports about a potential sale to a Chinese government-backed company, saying there were no plans for a change in ownership.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Bauhinia Culture (Hong Kong) Holdings, a news publishing company owned by the Chinese government, was "working on an offer" to acquire the paper, citing people familiar with the matter. Bauhinia's parent company is connected to the Hong Kong Liaison Office, the government agency that represents Beijing in Hong Kong.