UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China -April 3

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 3 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Thursday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in a research report forecast that China's March CPI would rise an annualised 8.2 percent, while the rise for the first quarter was estimated at 8 percent, as inflationary pressures continue to mount.

-- China's new corporate tax law, which took effect on Jan. 1 and reduces income tax for domestic companies to 25 percent from 33 percent, will help boost earnings of the country's more than 1,500 listed companies by about 10 percent this year.

-- As of April 1, 839 listed companies have released 2007 annual reports, showing total net profit of 644.6 billion yuan ($92 billion), up 44 percent from a year earlier.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- Huaxia Bank Co Ltd (600015.SS) shareholders approved a private placement of new shares announced last month. The mid-sized bank said it would issue 11.56 billion yuan in new shares to three institutions, including Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which said it would raise its stake in the bank to 13.7 percent from 9.9 percent via the placement.

-- CITIC Securities (600030.SS), China's biggest listed brokerage, has received notification from securities regulators giving the go-ahead to set up a 1.1 billion yuan fund.

-- A unit of taxi and freight truck operator Dazhong Transportation (Group) Co (600611.SS) paid 456.3 million yuan for land in Zhejiang Province in a competitive sale.

-- China Railway Group (601390.SS)(0390.HK) has signed a contract for work on a 1.65 billion yuan high-speed rail project in the Pearl River Delta between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

SECURITIES TIMES

-- Ten securities mutual funds are now open to subscriptions and 17 others are expected to be sold soon in the most intensive issuance since China launced its fund market in 1998, as stock regulators use funds to support the slumping share market.

-- China's insurance companies have increasingly shifted to bond trading while reducing their stock market positions.

21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD

-- Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co, the first equity IPO in mainland China in a month, is likely to price its offer at a low price-earnings ratio of 15 times historical earnings, or even 12 times, due to the weak stock market.