UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - Nov 7

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Friday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- The balance of China's social security fund has reached almost 2.5 trillion yuan, government officials said on Wednesday, but they warned of a potential loss of value as the average annual return is now below 2 percent.

-- China's electricity output could decline in the coming months due to sliding demand in the country's power-consuming sectors as a result of the global economic slowdown, the newspaper said in a commentary.

-- The chairman of the Shandong Iron and Steel said a letter of intent on consolidation between his company and Rizhao Iron and Steel did not include any detailed plans, noting that his company had just started to assess Rizhao's assets.

-- Chinese steel mills' orders from overseas customers fell about 50 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period last year, China Iron and Steel Association Vice Chairman Luo Bingsheng said.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- The state-owned parent of Rizhao Port (600017.SS) will support the company's share price by buying and exercising warrants.

-- Hubei Chutian Expressway (600035.SS) said it planned to invest 3.83 billion yuan in highway construction in the central Chinese province of Hubei.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- China faces rising risks of production overcapacity due to weakening exports, and the country needs to increase infrastructure investment to prop up growth, said Yao Jingyuan, chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics.

-- China's insurance regulator said it would fine insurers or suspend their licenses if they failed to disclose important information about their products or misguide clients.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- The world needs to set up a special fund under the United Nations framework to ensure that developed countries help their developing counterparts to cope with climate changes, said Zhang Ping, head of China's National Development and Reform Commission.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- China will maintain stable export and import growth despite challenges from the global slowdown, the General Administration of Customs said.

-- Chinese firms signed contracts worth $31.55 billion during the Canton Fair earlier this month, down 17.5 percent from last year, fair organisers said. (Compiled by Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Editing by Ken Wills and Edmund Klamann)