PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Feb 15

HONG KONG Feb 15 (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

-- MTR Corp said its joint-venture firm London Overground Rail Operations (LOROL) has secured a two-year extension until November 2016 for its franchise to operate and maintain the London Overground rail services. (link.reuters.com/fyh95t)

-- New home sales in the city rose during the Lunar New Year holiday as project releases attracted end-users and investors, while prices in the secondary market also reached a record high, according to property agents. (link.reuters.com/gyh95t)

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Chinese car maker Geely Automobile Holdings said total sales volume in January hit a record high of 63,532 units, up 67 percent from a year earlier.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- Hong Kong's economy in 2013 will be better than it was in the last year, amid a recovery in the United States, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan.

-- 3 Hong Kong, the mobile operation of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, plans to cooperate with Citibank to develop mobile wallet service, sources said.

THE STANDARD

-- A site allocated for public development in Mui Wo, a rural town on Lantau Island, has been proposed for the building of about 500 flats under the Home Ownership Scheme. The government also plans to use more non-residential sites in Tung Chung West to build 3,500 public housing flats. (link.reuters.com/hyh95t)

WEN WEI PO

-- The Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society president Haywood Cheung expects gold prices to remain stable this year at $1,600-$1,700 an ounce.

For Chinese newspapers, see............... (Reporting by Twinnie Siu; Editing by Jijo Jacob)