UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - Aug 12

BEIJING/SHANGHAI Aug 12 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Wednesday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- Average property prices in Shanghai may exceed 18,000 yuan ($2,634) a square meter in August, an all-time record, analysts forecast, following sales of several upscale properties.

-- A large amount of foreign short-term speculative funds, or hot money, could have returned to China in the first half of this year to be invested in property and stocks, said a research report issued by The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- China's CITIC Bank (601998.SS) has entered into a joint venture with Spain's second-largest lender BBVA (BBVA.MC) to form the first auto financing firm in China.

-- Property developer Deluxe Family Co Ltd (600503.SS) said it planned to raise up to 1.3 billion yuan in a private placement to fund two property projects.

-- Zhejiang Guyuelongshan Shaoxing Wine Co Ltd (600059.SS) said it planned to issue 670 million yuan worth of new shares in a placement to acquire a 95 percent stake in a local wine maker and expand its facilities.

SECURITIES TIMES

-- Newly-established funds raised more than 200 billion yuan in Chinese markets so far this year, statistics show, of which 70 percent were contributed by equity funds.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- China Development Bank sold 1 billion yuan (about $146 million) in floating-rate bonds in Hong Kong, the first Chinese bank to issue the debt facility in the regional financial centre.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- More than 90 percent of products traded between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will enjoy zero tariff treatment in 2010 when the free trade pact between the sides becomes completely operative.

-- Chinese tobacco companies have been banned from claiming tax breaks on spending for advertising, promotions and sponsorships.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- About 4.37 million hectares of crops in the key producing region in northeastern China have been hit by drought, accounting for more than half of the country's total drought-stricken area.

-- Energy-hungry Jiangsu province in eastern China aims to build more than 10 gigawatts of wind power farms, or nearly China's existing total wind power capacity. No target completion date was given.