Readers can trust our journalism only if they can trust the people behind it. This policy applies to everyone who works on Capital Times journalism, including editors, staff and The Editorial Board. Where it says so, it also applies to the owners of Capital Times. It works alongside our Editorial Standards.

Conflicts of interest

Staff must avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of them. No one may work on coverage of a company, organization or person with which they have a financial, family or close personal connection. Anyone who has such a connection must tell the editor in chief, who will decide whether the work should be reassigned and whether the article should disclose the connection.

Staff may not take paid work, consulting roles or board seats with companies or organizations that Capital Times covers.

Trading and holdings

This rule is firm, and it applies to staff and owners alike.

• No trading around publication. No one may buy, sell, short or trade options or other instruments on a security they are writing about, editing or know is about to be covered. The ban runs from the moment work on the article begins until two full trading days after it is published.
• No trading on unpublished information. No one may trade on, or pass to anyone else, information gathered in the course of our work before it is published.
• Disclosure of holdings. Staff and owners must disclose to the editor in chief any holdings that are relevant to the coverage they work on or oversee. The editor in chief decides whether the person may take part in that coverage and whether the article should disclose the holding.
• Household accounts. These rules cover accounts held by a spouse or partner and any account a person controls or advises on.

Broad, diversified funds that a person does not manage, such as index funds, are not covered by the trading ban, but they must still be disclosed if they are concentrated in a sector the person covers.

When we report on a company or matter connected to the owners' other business interests, we say so in the article. See Ownership & Funding.

Gifts, travel and hospitality

We do not accept gifts of more than token value from companies, organizations or people we cover. Anything more is returned or, if that is not practical, given to charity.

Capital Times pays for its own reporting travel and accommodation. If we ever accept travel or event access paid for by someone else, the article will say so. Ordinary hospitality during the course of reporting, such as a coffee or a working lunch, is acceptable. Staff may not accept payment for speaking at events run by companies we cover without the approval of the editor in chief.

Sponsored content and advertising

Sponsored content is always labeled as sponsored. It is never written by the newsroom, and it is never presented as news. Advertisers have no influence over our coverage and do not see articles before publication. Our advertising standards are set out on Advertise With Us.

Fairness and right of reply

We aim to be fair to the people and companies we write about. When an article reports criticism or allegations against someone, we include their response where it is on the record, or say that they declined to comment to the outlet that reported it. Where our own reporting raises serious allegations, we contact the person or company for comment before publication and give them a fair chance to respond.

We do not speculate about anyone's motives, wrongdoing or health beyond what our sources report.

If you are the subject of our coverage and believe it is unfair, write to corrections@capitaltimes.asia. We will consider your response and, where it is warranted, update the article or publish a clarification.

Privacy of private individuals

Public figures are open to scrutiny of their public roles. Private individuals are not. We name private people only when they are central to a story of clear public interest, and we do not publish personal details such as home addresses or family information unless they are essential to the story.

We do not use photos in which an identifiable person is the subject.

Plagiarism

We write in our own words. When we rely on another outlet's reporting, we credit it by name and link to it in the sources at the foot of the article. Direct quotes are short, in quotation marks and attributed.

Our fact-check pass looks for wording copied or closely mirrored from a source and rewrites it before publication. Plagiarism is a serious breach of this policy. Any article found to contain it will be corrected or withdrawn, with a note explaining why.

Treatment of sources

We are honest about who we are when we gather information. We do not pay sources for information.

We do not publish the identity of a source who has asked not to be named without that person's consent. We use information from unnamed sources only when it cannot be obtained on the record, when an editor knows who the source is, and when the article explains why the source was not named. Information from tips is checked independently before we publish anything based on it. See Send a News Tip.

Sources do not approve articles before publication. We may check facts or quotes with them to make sure we have them right.

Questions

If you have a concern about our conduct, email newsroom@capitaltimes.asia. Concerns are passed to the editor in chief.