PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Aug 5

HONG KONG Aug 5 (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.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd (0044.HK) posted a 27 percent year-on-year drop in first-half profit to HK$430 million (US$55.5 million) amid difficult trading conditions and said it expected business activity in the second half of 2009 to be even weaker than the first half as airlines continued to reduce services and expenditure.

-- HSBC (0005.HK) plans to sell 2 billion yuan (US$292.8 million) worth of yuan bonds to retail investors from Aug. 18 to Sept 14 with a term of two years and carrying interest of 2.45-2.8 percent per annum, according to banking sources.

-- Chinese solar silicon material maker Comtec is expected to raise US$100 million-$150 million in an initial public offering of shares in the fourth quarter in Hong Kong, and the company is expected to submit a listing application later this month, according to sources. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- Eight more frontline hospital workers were confirmed to have the new H1N1 influenza virus on Tuesday, bringing the number of infected hospital workers to 85 so far with 52 recovered and back to work, according to Hospital Authority.

-- Casino fit-out specialist Sundart International Holdings is planning an initial public offering of shares later this month raising up to HK$700 million (US$90.3 million) to fund expansion on the mainland and Middle East, according to sources.

-- Hewlett Packard (HPQ.N) and Foxconn International (2038.HK) have agreed to jointly invest US$3 billion to develop a laptop personal computer manufacturing hub in Chongqing with a production capacity of 20 million units a year, according to Chongqing Vice-Mayor Huang Qifan.

APPLE DAILY

-- China Shenhua Energy (1088.HK) said it recevied approval for a 564 million yuan (US$82.58 million) capacity expansion and improvement project at Huanghua Port to expand shipment capacity and construct a coal berth. The company will be responsbile for 395 million yuan of the total investment.

MING PAO

-- Modern Beauty (0919.HK) said the company was interested in issuing Taiwan Depositary Receipts but no detailed plan had been finalised.

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