Asian media circles are abuzz with speculation that one of the region's most influential newspapers, the 112-year-old Hong Kong newspaper of record the South China Morning Post, could be bought by the billionaire businessman Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba.

The Post's chief executive, Robin Hu, confirmed it was in talks to sell a stake in the newspaper in a memo sent to staff and later posted an article on its website saying it had received a preliminary offer from an unnamed buyer.

The proposal was still at a “very early stage and is subject to discussion, regulatory review and approval”, said Hu.

The family of 92-year-old Malaysian palm oil tycoon Robert Kuok controls the South China Morning Post, after he bought a majority stake from Rupert Murdoch in 1993.

Kuok told the Straits Times last week that any move to sell the newspaper would be a "business decision".

“We have no influence on politics,” he told the Singapore newspaper.

In many ways, the Post is a go-to source of information about China, and its current editor-in-chief, Wang Xiangwei, is said to have great contacts within the ruling Communist Party. Its coverage of daily news in China is unmatched in the region.

Its coverage of last year’s Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong was very much in tune with the broader feelings in the territory. However, the paper has also been accused of taking the Communist Party line too often, and many believe that it has lost much of its editorial independence since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

Wang is due to be replaced by current deputy editor Tammy Tam on January 1st and the paper has seen many resignations from key journalists and editors in recent months.