PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Dec 5

HONG KONG, Dec 5 (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

-- The global financial tsunami seems to have hit local academic institutions, where enrollment in business administration programmes has dropped as much as 20 percent.

MING PAO DAILY NEWS

-- Credit Suisse announced a global downsizing, eliminating 5,300 jobs. Sources close to the decision said Hong Kong employees would be affected and that the layoff exercise would be completed within the first half of 2009.

SING TAO DAILY

-- Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016.HK) said property values in Hong Kong would rise five percent in the coming year. The company estimated it would offer 2,400 new flats worth a combined HK$16 billion ($2.06 billion).

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- Local banks involved in selling minibonds guaranteed by collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers are pressing the US-based trustee of the bonds to clarify whether it would follow English or U.S. law in dealing with the planned buy-back of bonds sold to Hong Kong investors.

THE STANDARD

-- Despite huge fund outflows in the third quarter due to a volatile financial market shunned by wary investors, fund managers remain optimistic on equities for their attractive valuations this quarter, a survey by HSBC showed.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL

-- Local bank CITIC Ka Wah announced it has laid off 70 employees.

SING PAO

-- Money-losing broadcaster Asia Television Ltd has brought two big names into its management, appointing City Telecom (1137.HK) chairman Ricky Wong as chief executive and former deputy chairman of PCCW (0008.HK) Linus Cheung as executive chairman.

WEN WEI PO

-- Shares in City Telecom rose 16 percent on Thursday as its chairman Ricky Wong was newly appointed as the chief executive of Asia Television Ltd. The market believes the broadcaster could seek a backdoor listing through City Telecom.

TA KUNG PAO

-- Hang Seng Bank (0011.HK) said in a monthly report that the local economy was in recession and the worst was not here yet. The bank is predicting zero growth in GDP and a minus-four percent growth in retail sales for the coming year.

(Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

For Chinese newspapers, see...............[PRESS/CN]

For Taiwan newspapers, see............[PRESS/TW] ($1=7.751 Hong Kong Dollar)