PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - May 4
HONG KONG, May 4 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
APPLE DAILY
-- The number of property transactions dropped 30 percent over the weekend in Hong Kong amid the swine flu scare, according to property agencies. The rebounding market suddenly turned cold as buyer and seller sides entered a tug-of-war on flat prices.
-- GOME Electrical Appliances (0493.HK) is expected to reach an agreement soon on the sale of an about 20 percent stake to investment funds at a discount. Trading in the shares may resume later in the week, according to sources.
MING PAO DAILY NEWS
-- The travel industry says government action to quarantine the hotel once occupied by Hong Kong's first swine flu index case patient has had an impact as incoming Southeast Asian tour groups have cancelled their Hong Kong itineraries. Some optimists in the industry believe the swift controls to stop new cases would actually give tourists confidence to come.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Yields on the prospective issue of up to HK$100 billion in government bonds may be only slightly higher than existing Exchange Fund notes but the bonds are expected to be in demand as investors continued to head for safe havens because of the global financial crisis, analysts said.
-- The central government is considering a proposal to allow Hong Kong to expand its yuan business related to the mainland's financial help to developing countries, in a significant move aimed at making the city an offshore yuan centre, sources say.
-- China Shenhua Energy (601088.SS)(1088.HK) plans to invest 100 billion yuan ($14.65 billion) over the next five years on two coal-mining projects in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, each of which may have an annual output capacity of 100 million tonnes, according to company secretary Huang Qing.
-- Shimao Property (0813.HK) may resume land acquisitions in the third quarter if its property sales continue to grow, according to chief financial controller Lawrence Hui.
THE STANDARD
-- Retail investors can now pre-register as online subscribers for initial public offerings - saving paper and time - while waiting for the new-listing market to recover. Director of transaction management at Computershare Hong Kong Investor Services Pamela Chung said an online application would take less than five minutes and is free of charge.
WEN WEI PO
-- The government said it would pay the expenses of those isolated in the Metropark hotel during the forced seven-day quarantine. The authorities are also working on rearrangement of travelling plans for the departure of the affected group later.
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