UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - Nov 12

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Thursday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- The top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, and five other government departments proposed measures to increase China's auto and auto component exports by 10 percent annually from 2009 to 2011, lift total exports to $85 billion by 2015, and aim toward a goal of capturing 10 percent of the world's auto export market by 2020. -- China has expanded the number of authorized foreign currency exchange outlets in 13 provinces and four cities.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- Environmentalists and scientists urged the government to halt the Xiaonanhai dam, a hydropower project in the Yangtze River conservative area that some have said poses ecological problems.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- The tourism bureau said profit at China's star-level hotels fell 52.53 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, with average room prices down 10.99 percent, due to the effects of the financial crisis and fears about the H1N1 virus.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- China's stimulus policies targeting the real estate industry will be gradually reduced rather than rapidly halted, as the property markets in many Chinese cities have not recovered yet, said Nie Meisheng, president of the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce. -- China Minsheng Banking's $4.07 billion Hong Kong initial public offering has attracted several domestic and overseas bidders such as Hope Investments, Atlantis Investment and Tiger Fund.

-- Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd (2318.HK) (601318.SS), the world's No. 2 life insurer by market value, said the premium incomes from its units were 145.65 billion yuan ($21.3 billion) for the first 10 months.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (601186.SS) said it units recently won bidding for eight projects worth a combined 13.4 billion yuan, or about 5.71 percent of the company's revenue in 2008.