PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - May 29

HONG KONG, May 29 (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 TIMES

-- With buying power returning to the residential property market, developers are poised to raise flat sale prices. Henderson Land (0012.HK) will increase prices by 5 to 8 percent in its new flat sale offer, according to sources.

APPLE DAILY

-- Hong Kong has recorded 15 confirmed case of the new H1N1 influenza virus so far, with 12 patients below the age of 25.

-- A PCCW (0008.HK) workers' union has learned that some workers did not get extensions or renewals when their employment contracts with PCCW expired. Some 600 workers with contracts ending this year now expect the same outcome.

MING PAO

-- The number of property transactions so far this month has reached a 15-month high, according to land registry figures.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- A secondary school was ordered to close for two weeks after a high school student who returned from Canada was confirmed as one of three new H1N1 influenza cases reported in Hong Kong on Thursday.

-- Strong sale of almost 1,000 flats over the last two days at Sino Land's (0083.HK) Lake Silver residential project in New Territories shows that people are prepared to return to the market to take advantage of the low-interest-rate environment and protect their wealth, according to analysts.

THE STANDARD

-- Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) (2888.HK) expects a 30 percent increase in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises this year, following the government's enhanced SME loan guarantee programme.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- DBS Bank said it did not expect mainland interest rates to be reduced further next year.

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