PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - April 17

HONG KONG, April 17 (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.

APPLE DAILY

-- Stronger than industry average sales performance lifted Dongfeng Motor Group Co's (0489.HK) earnings 81 percent in 2007 to 3.77 billion yuan. The carmaker's turnover rose 23 percent on the year to 59.3 billion yuan.

-- Computer maker Lenovo (0992.HK) says it plans to extend its market reach outside Asia by making acquisitions. Middle East and Turkey are the two target regions.

MING PAO DAILY NEWS

-- Hong Kong fears losing a lot of air passengers when regular direct flights between Taiwan and the mainland are allowed.

SING TAO DAILY

-- Rating agency Moody's gave a negative outlook on two mainland real estate companies, saying the tightening currency policy would hurt property development and sales.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- The People's Bank of China said yesterday it would raise the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks by 50 basis points to a new high -- just hours after news that inflation had hit 8.3 percent.

-- Representatives of employers and workers on the Labour Advisory Board remain split over a proposal to make non-payment of wages a criminal offence.

THE STANDARD

-- As the appetite for public offerings improves slightly, 10 listing candidates are aiming to raise up to HK$37 billion on the local bourse in the coming two months.

-- Hong Kong has the world's priciest apartment rents, with the lease for a three-bedroom unit costing an average exceeding HK$75,925 a month, a survey on expatriates' housing costs shows.

SING PAO

-- The government is to carry out a rehearsal tomorrow simulating the Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong. The proposed route has been shortened but it cuts through the busiest districts, so traffic chaos is expected as hundreds of bus routes will be affected.

WEN WEI PO

-- A million jobs in the Pearl River Delta region are being threatened as the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) industry is shrinking with fewer orders. Export-heavy Guangdong province is hit hardest, where some 70,000 Hong Kong workers may be affected.

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