Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is a state-owned media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media properties in the country. Mediacorp forms one half of the mass media duopoly in the country, alongside SPH Media Trust. History 1925–1965: Pre-independence era Radio broadcasting The history of radio broadcasting in Singapore began with the formation of the Amateur Wireless Society of Malaya (AWSM) in April 1925, which launched shortwave transmission from a studio in the Union Building at Collyer Quay using a 100-watt transmitter lent by the Marconi Company under callsign 1SE (One Singapore Experimental). The transmissions could be received from as far as Penang, albeit with atmospheric interferences at times. In 1930, Sir Earl from the Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The Empire Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was inaugurated in December 1932, which expanded the array of programmes available for resident listeners. In 1933, Radio ZHI was launched as the first professional shortwave broadcasting station in Singapore. Owned by the Radio Service Company of Malaya, it was a shortwave radio station that delivered static-free broadcasts. Throughout its history, Radio ZHI acquired a loyal following in Singapore and abroad. Despite its success, the station closed in 1936 when its licence expired. British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation was formed on 21 July 1935 and awarded a broadcasting license by the British crown on 1 June 1936 as a radio network. On 1 March 1937 at 6pm, its studios and transmitters at Caldecott Hill was officially opened by Governor of the Straits Settlements Shenton Thomas. The corporation was taken over by the Straits Settlements government in 1940 as a part of the British Department of Information, subsequently nationalised and reorganised as the Malaya Broadcasting Corporation, the local counterpart to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). During World War II, Japanese Imperial Army occupy Singapore from 1942 to 1945 and the radio station on the island of Singapore was seized by the Japanese authorities and renamed Syonan Hoso Kyoku ('Light of the South' Broadcasting Corporation), the local counterpart to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). After the war, the British came back into power and reclaimed the radio station, with the station managed by the interim government – British Military Administration (BMA). On 1 April 1946, Radio Malaya Singapore and the Federation of Malaya