UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - May 5

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, May 5 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Monday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- The China Securities Regulatory Commission said mainland fund management firms could set up representative offices, branches or subsidiaries in Hong Kong as part of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.

-- The Agricultural Bank of China, the only big state lender yet to be listed, said its non-performing loans dropped 7.3 billion yuan ($1.05 billion) by the end of March from the level three months earlier. The paper did not give a specific figure for the sour loans either as of the end of March or at the end of 2007.

-- China has total gold reserves of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes, ranking the seventh in the world, Hou Huimin, vice president of China Gold Association, said at a conference in Shanghai.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- The China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday at the Vatican, as part of its tour of European cities.

-- China's customs authorities have stepped up efforts to block illegal grain exports by traders who hope to cash in on high global prices.