PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Aug 12
HONG KONG, Aug 12 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES
-- Mainland bourses lost more than five percent on Monday. On a day described as "black Monday", the Shanghai index fell near 20-month lows.
APPLE DAILY
-- CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc 8222.HK reported an 87 percent decrease in net profit to HK$8.3 million ($1.06 million) the first half of this year. Investment losses dragged down profit while income from its core products rose 80 percent.
-- Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Bill Gates will visit Hong Kong on Tuesday for his first public speaking engagement in the city since 1999. His company's local chief says Hong Kong-made software application development is outstanding and the city could bring in professionals from the mainland to strengthen skills.
SING TAO DAILY
-- Lifestyle International Holdings (1212.HK) posted a 42 percent increase in interim profit to HK$606 million as its retail stores reported increased sales.
MING PAO DAILY NEWS
-- Hong Kong Stock Exchange (0388.HK) is expected to report a 30 percent rise in interim profit to about HK$3.1 billion. But a weaker second half could result in a decline in full-year earnings.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- An offer of HK$100 million was not enough to settle the marathon tussle between the Bank of East Asia (0023.HK) and the owner of Tatami Hampton, the Mong Kok budget hotel embroiled in a long-running debt row. The lender rejected the offer.
-- Angang Steel (0347.HK), the listed flagship of China's second-largest steelmaker, is expected to face tougher times down the road despite posting a better than expected 24.8 per cent gain in first-half earnings.
THE STANDARD
-- An unexpected 12-year record high producer prices index in July undermined China's better-than-expected export growth for the same period, squeezing corporate margins and suggesting inflationary pressures still threaten. However, economists continue to expect that China consumer price inflation - due for release on Tuesday - to fall to 6.6 percent in July.
-- Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) will cut the number of flights to North America by 10 per week in an attempt to offset the impact of soaring fuel prices.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- A Hong Kong University study has found that nearly 70 percent of shopaholics are under the age of 30. And many over-spenders have shopped themselves into debt.
WEN WEI PO
-- Mainland experts say the impact of inflation should not be underestimated. Both production prices and consumer prices are expected to hurt earnings of enterprises in the coming months.
TA KUNG PAO
-- Once an investment banks' favourite, jeweller Peace Mark Holdings (0304.HK) saw its shares fall sharply on Monday, down as much as 73 percent. High gearing triggered the sell-off.
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