PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - March 18
HONG KONG, March 18 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is planning to invite independent accounting companies to carry out an audit of state firms' overseas units in an unprecedented move amid concerns they provide fertile ground for corruption. It said it would launch a bidding process for accounting firms interested in conducting the audit. (http://bit.ly/1Fy7pfs)
-- Instant messaging services are changing the working patterns of Hongkongers, said a global study, as it found local workers increasingly adopting IM services in the workplace. Some 83 percent of Hong Kong workers reported a heavier use of instant messaging at work, compared to the global average of 64 percent, according to a study by office space provider Regus. (http://bit.ly/1MLsDqi)
-- Shanghai-listed developer Poly Real Estate said it would raise 10 billion yuan ($1.60 billion) in a private placement to finance expansion and reduce debt. The plan comes on the heels of indications of supportive government policy from Premier Li Keqiang to help the struggling property sector. (http://bit.ly/1MLt2sA)
THE STANDARD
-- Legendary businessman Deacon Chiu Te-ken, who once turned the cash-strapped Asia Television into a profit-making station, died on Tuesday at the age of 90. Chiu founded the Far East Consortium, a property development company with several hotels across Hong Kong. (http://bit.ly/1GZLzTI)
-- Departing passengers in Hong Kong will be charged HK$180 from next year and airlines 15 percent more to help fund the third airport runway, whose budget has ballooned to HK$141.5 billion ($18.23 billion). The Executive Council on Tuesday gave green light to the Airport Authority's three-runway system, which may be completed by 2023 if construction begins next year. (http://bit.ly/1MLtZBf)
-- Consultancy works for a proposed HK$9.3 billion ($1.20 billion) seawater desalination plant in Tseung Kwan O will cost another HK$154.6 million, the Development Bureau said. The plant will contribute 5 percent to Hong Kong's total water supply once it begins operation in 2020. (http://bit.ly/1Fydqsi)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- Hong Kong developer Wheelock and Co received HK$18.8 billion ($2.42 billion) from flat sales last year, 88 percent above its HK$10 billion target. Chairman Woo Chun-kuen said he is cautiously optimistic about the city's property market and has set a sales target of slightly more than HK$10 billion for this year.
-- Zheng Jianjiang, the chairman of China's home appliances maker AUX Group, has bought 69.01 percent of clubbing venues operator Magnum Entertainment Group Holdings Ltd for HK$404 million, according to a disclosure from the Hong Kong bourse.
For Chinese newspapers, see............... ($1 = 6.2490 Chinese yuan renminbi) ($1 = 7.7626 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
