PRESS DIGEST - China - Dec 4

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Tuesday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- The Baosteel group, parent of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (600019.SS), said it may raise its stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (000001.SZ) over the coming 12 months. The group now has 3.12 million shares, or 0.15 percent, of Shenzhen Development and warrants bought in recent months, if exercised, could raise the holding to 11.65 million shares.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- Jiang Yang, assistant to the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said preparations for the launch of stock index futures were proceeding smoothly, though he did not say when trade might begin. He also said the commission would step up research into the possibility of futures for commodities such as crude oil, steel, wheat and pork.

-- Despite the stock market's sharp pull-back in November, the amount of money invested in A shares continued to expand rapidly, rising by 120 billion yuan ($16.2 billion) to 1.78 trillion yuan. This was because of a flood of funds into IPOs. The number of new investment accounts being opened daily continued to drop, to the lowest levels since the market's plunge in May, which was due to a tax change.

-- Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co (600004.SS) said its board had approved a plan to issue as much as 1.5 billion yuan in short-term bills, to improve its debt structure and cut financing expenses.

-- The TCL group, parent of TCL Corp (000100.SZ), TCL Communication Technology Holdings (2618.HK) and TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings (1070.HK), said it would restructure next year by folding major assets into four divisions covering multimedia, telecommunications, electronic appliances and technology.

-- Fiat's (FIA.MI) unit Fiat Powertrain Technologies broke ground for a research and development facility in Shanghai costing 22 million euros ($32 million).

SECURITIES TIMES

-- Prosecutors have filed charges against three Hangxiao Steel Structure Co (600477.SS) executives for alleged violation of securities laws in its disclosure of a major contract.

CHINA BUSINESS DAYS

-- Suning Appliance Co. (002024.SZ) will take over local rival Dazhong Electronics for 3 billion yuan, sources say. But a Suning spokesman said his company was still evaluating Dazhong's assets and no agreement had been reached.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- China will urge banks to improve risk controls and step up reforms, said Liu Mingkang, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission. He referred to the Agricultural Bank of China as well as its three policy lenders.

-- China should take idle land back into its reserve pool and consolidate them for future development, said a circular published by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance.

It also said local departments building up land reserves must obtain approvals from the local finance bureau and that bank loans for property projects cannot exceed a certain annual quota set by the local government.

-- The Agricultural Bank of China has established an investment banking section.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- China appointed five provincial party chiefs as part of a broad reshuffle of top officials after the 17th party Congress. Commerce Minister Bo Xilai has also become the party secretary of Chongqing municipality.

-- Spurred by the rising value of the yuan currency and soaring prices for goods, the cost of living for expatriates in Beijing and Shanghai is fast catching up with Asia's most expensive cities, according to human resources firm ECA International.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- A 24-year-old man died of bird flu in eastern Jiangsu province on Sunday.

-- China's northwestern Gansu province raised transport costs by 4 percent due to higher fuel prices.

-- China has set up a 1.4 billion yuan ($189.1 million) fund to help poor people during the winter.

-- China's first cartoon fair in Anhui province saw 2 billion yuan worth of deals clinched. ($1 = 7.40 yuan)