PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - July 2

HONG KONG, July 2 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- China National Petroleum Corp, parent of PetroChina (0857.HK), is set to revive a failed attempt to bid for control of Spanish energy giant Repsol-YPF's Argentinian unit, a US$17 billion deal that may face political opposition against overseas investment by China, according to sources.

-- Hedge fund Alantis Investment Management has invested HK$460 million in three recent equity deals in Hong Kong in subscribing to shares in coal trader China Qinfa Group (0866.HK), Zhong An Real Estate (0672.HK) and Xinyu Hengdeli (3389.HK), sources said.

-- About 140 civil servants from civil service unions joined the city's annual march on Wednesday for the first time, calling on the government to respond positively to their demands for shorter probationary periods for recruits and opposing the outsourcing of work. HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- The number of luxury property transactions, with price tags over HK$10 million, more than doubled to 2,442 in the first half of this year compared with the second half of last year, and value surged 74 percent to HK$48 billion, according to a report by property agent Centaline.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- BBMG Corp, one of China's top construction materials makers, is set to launch an initial public offering this month, making it the first Chinese enterprise to float H-shares in Hong Kong this year.

-- Police said about 28,000 people participated in the city's annual march on Wednesday, in line with 29,000 to 33,000 counted by two Hong Kong universities. The democratic party claimed 76,000 people joined the march, but that was still way below its earlier prediction of 150,000 to 200,000.

APPLE DAILY

-- Five power companies, including CLP Holdings (0002.HK), are interested in placing a bid for a 15 percent stake in Reliance Power (RPOL.BO), a deal that may worth about US$1.3 billion, according to India's Business Standard newspaper.

SING TAO DAILY

-- Hong Kong's government will soon announce the appointment of Norman Chan as the new chief executive to head the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the de facto central bank, with a term of five years, replacing Joseph Yam who will step down on October 1. The annual remuneration package of the post will be cut by 10-20 percent, according to sources.

TA KUNG PAO

-- Coal trader China Qinfa Group (0866.HK) said the retail offering portion of its initial public offering was 96 times over-subscribed and the shares were priced at HK$2.52, the top of its suggested range. The shares will start trading on Friday.

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