PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Nov 20

HONG KONG Nov 20 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- About HK$567.5 billion ($73.2 billion) flooded into Hong Kong between Oct. 1, 2008 and Nov. 13, 2009, targeted mainly at stock and property investments, according to chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority Norman Chan, who added that the risk of asset bubbles may lie ahead next year.

-- Retail and carpark facilities investor The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (0823.HK) exceeded analysts expectations, posting a 19.3 percent rise in distributable income for the six months to September as occupancy rates and rental growth improved.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- The number of home loans in negative equity in the city dropped to 835 at the end of September, the lowest since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority survey began in 2001.

-- Russia's state-owned bank Vneshekonombank (VEB), one of the main creditors of the world's largest alumina producer UC Rusal, intended to invest in UC Rusal, taking up to 3 percent of the shares from Rusal's planned IPO, sources said.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Hong Kong employees are expected to receive pay rises, with 70 percent of respondent employers planning an average 2.9 percent increase in wages next year amid signs of an improving business environment, according to a survey by human resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates.

MING PAO

-- Vitasoy International Holdings (0345.HK), which sells soya-based drinks and beverages, said its net profit for the six months to September rose 45.8 percent to HK$141.12 million ($18.2 million) from a year earlier, and added that it has interest in seeking acquisitions in Asia.

SING TAO DAILY

-- Shenzhen-based property developer Kaisa Group Holdings plans to raise HK$4.45 billion ($574 million) in an initial public offering, selling shares at HK$3.45-HK$4.45 each. Trading is expected to begin on December 9.

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