Clifford, former Business- Week regional editor for eight years, resigned after just two years in the job. He takes up the post of editor-in-chief at the SCMP in April. The Standard, meanwhile, has named Ivan Tong as editor-in-chief.
Under Clifford's leadership, The Standard sought to position itself as the leading source of business, financial and economic news on China and launched a weekend edition, Weekend Standard.
However, according to MediaCom's general manager Cecilia Chan, the paper's revenue slipped seven per cent in 2005 over 2004 figures, while the total newspaper market rose by 10 per cent. Rival SCMP, meanwhile, saw revenue climb 18 per cent over the same period.
Standard editor defects to SCMP
English-language daily The Standard is seeking a publisher following the departure of editor-in-chief and publisher Mark Clifford to rival paper South China Morning Post.