KUCHING, Sept 25 ― International Times, a 50-year old Chinese daily, will cease its printing operations on October 16, mainly due to stiff competition from the online news portals and high costs of production.

International Times managing director and editor in-chief Datuk Wee Kok Hui, however,  said the newspaper will continue with its online site.

"We are grateful for the support we have had from all our readers, and we will continue to bring about the latest news and promotion for everyone,” he said in a statement late yesterday.

A senior editorial staff of the paper, when contacted, said none of the staff will be retrenched.

"We are still required to run the online site. In other words, we will work usual from October 16,” he said who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said over the past few years the paper’s daily circulation has dropped substantially, due to competition from other major Chinese daily newspapers, like Sin Chew Daily and See Hua Daily, and online news portals.

He said revenue from advertisements has also dropped while production costs have increased over the years.

International Times, which hit the street in 1968, was linked to the family of business tycoon the late Tan Sri Wee Boon Ping.