PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Oct 16

HONG KONG Oct 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- Apple Inc is stepping up its retail expansion in the mainland with the opening of its third branded store in Beijing on Saturday (Oct. 20), three weeks after it launched a new outlet in Hong Kong. The store will take the number of Apple's branded stores to 386 in 13 countries. ()

-- A residential site near Yuen Long's Long Ping MTR station, estimated to cost up to HK$1.9 billion ($245.12 million), attracted eight bids from developers, include Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd and New World Development Co Ltd. ()

-- The Asia-Pacific region will overtake Europe to become the world's biggest market expansion services (MES) market by 2015, with China among the fastest growing, a study said. It predicts Asia's MES market will grow 8 percent per year until 2015, while the global MES market will grow 7.1 percent annually to $3.1 trillion in 2015. ()

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Henderson Land Development Co Ltd Chairman Lee Shau-kee expects local property prices to rise by 10-20 percent in two to three years due to inflated construction costs.

THE STANDARD

-- The Long-Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Anthony Cheung, will review the demand for flats in the city. A report laying out the housing strategy for the next 10 years is expected by the middle of next year.

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