PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - April 16
HONG KONG, April 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Homebuyers are flooding into Hong Kong's primary residential market as developers continue adopting a low-price strategy to offload their new projects, according to property agents. With developers offering discounts of up to 20 percent to entice buyers, agents saw a sharp sales volume decline in the secondary market as homebuyers rushed to acquire new flats. (http://bit.ly/1NM6RIP)
-- Beijing has appointed seven audit companies, including PwC, to look into overseas assets of major state-owned firms as it tightens the reins on the business giants. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said three of the audits would cover offshore assets of various state firms, and four on key SOE projects. (http://bit.ly/1PPWlP9)
-- Developers have brushed aside concerns over action to curb the flow of visitors from Shenzhen as they flagged their interest in a hotel site in Tai Kok Tsui in Kowloon. The Urban Renewal Authority said 21 developers had submitted expressions of interest for its first hotel project. (http://bit.ly/1J4YL7d)
THE STANDARD
-- Former executive councillor and chairman of the now-defunct Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Barry Cheung Chun-yuen has been declared bankrupt with debts topping HK$120 million ($15.48 million). (http://bit.ly/1NMa7DY)
-- Lenders are offering less for yuan savings as more mainland capital flows into Hong Kong. Bank of China Hong Kong cut its three-month yuan time deposit rate to 4 percent from 4.1 percent, while Wing Lung Bank will reduce rates for three- and six- month savings by 0.2 percentage point, for nine months and one year by 0.15. (http://bit.ly/1FMqZRn)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- China Resources Enterprise may be taken out as a constituent of the Hang Seng Index in a quarterly review of the blue-chip index constituents in May, due mainly to its relatively low market capitalisation, while Hanergy Thin Film Power may be included in the index, HSBC wrote in a research note.
For Chinese newspapers, see............... ($1 = 7.7510 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
