PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - April 23
HONG KONG, April 23 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES
-- The old Kai Tak site in Southeast Kowloon is set for a massive overhaul as a number of projects are ready to begin in the master plan to turn the district into a new commercial and entertainment hub.
APPLE DAILY
-- The Hong Kong government, which holds a 5.88 percent stake in HKEx (0388.HK), has indicated it will likely cast its vote in the board of directors' election at the company tomorrow. Two seats are up for grabs.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Shenzhen customs authorities have increased spot checks to prevent people taking excessive amounts of yuan across the border as they seek to cash in on the strengthening currency and higher mainland interest rates.
THE STANDARD
-- Hong Kong's financial market will become more volatile if the mainland government further tightens monetary policy amid the risk of slower economic growth, chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority Joseph Yam has warned.
-- Hong Kong will host the inaugural Global Mayors Forum in September next year, billed to be the biggest meeting of its kind in Asia. Funded by the mainland's International Mayors Communication Centre to the tune of 56 million yuan, the forum, according to IMCC board chairman Carl Men Ky Ching, expects 1,000 delegates, including 100 mayors from the mainland, 30 from the rest of Asia and 100 from Europe and North America.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- Each permanent resident of Macau will receive a cash payment of M$5,000 from the government as financial relief amid strong price increases.
SING PAO
-- The Hong Kong government said it would spend HK$39.5 billion to build the Hong Kong section of a high-speed rail link to connect Guangzhou and West Kowloon. A single trip between the two places in the future will take 48 minutes, or half of the time it takes using the current rail service.
WEN WEI PO
-- Citibank says Hong Kong property values will fall 5 to 10 percent in 12 months.
-- Hong Kong's business environment is 7th best among 82 regions in a global survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
TA KUNG PAO
-- ICBC (Asia) is set to launch a yuan deposit account service which will allow Hong Kong residents to open mainland accounts. The bank expects yuan deposits by Hong Kong customers will rise 18 to 20 percent per month.
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