PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - June 19

HONG KONG, June 19 (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. HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- Bank of China (3988.HK) has obtained approval from shareholders for its plan to issue 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) worth of yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong by the end of next year.

-- China Minsheng Banking Corp aims to raise HK$23.4 billion ($3 billion) in an initial public offering of shares in Hong Kong in November and has hired UBS to handle the deal, sources said.

APPLE DAILY

-- Medical experts and health officials warned that Hong Kong could see severe H1N1 flu cases or deaths as the number of cases jump, with 49 new confirmed cases on Thursday bringing the total to 221.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (0388.HK) is considering launching a new "flexible options" derivative contract in the first quarter of 2010 in a bid to attract options trading from over-the-counter markets to the exchange and help improve regulation, according to chairman Ronald Arculli.

-- Dongfeng Motor Corp, the parent of Dongfeng Motor Group (0489.HK), said it was exploring an investment of US$30-40 million with Detroit Electric Holdings in the Netherlands to develop and sell electric vehicles in China and in Europe.

MING PAO

-- Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing will delay its consultation on a controversial quarterly reporting requirement for locally-listed firms to the end of this year from June and examine the proposal further with the territory's regulator, chief executive Paul Chow said. The proposal has been strongly opposed by firms such as Cheung Kong (0001.HK) and Great Eagle (0041.HK).

THE STANDARD

-- Ports-to-telecom conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) is offering to buy back sterling and euro-denominated debt worth more than HK$7.6 billion ($980.6 million) at up to a 16 percent discount, a spokesman said.

(Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

For Chinese newspapers, see...............[PRESS/CN]

For Taiwan newspapers, see............[PRESS/TW] ($1=6.834 Yuan) ($1=7.750 Hong Kong Dollar)