PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - March 10

HONG KONG, March 10 (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.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority was paid HK$10 million by its landlord at IFC I to move out before its office lease expired. Landlords are willing to compensate tenants to clear up space for new leases.

APPLE DAILY

-- Unions and the public criticised as unfair the government plan to hire drivers for the Olympic equestrian event in Hong Kong. The positions pay as much as HK$9,100 for eight days of work and were reportedly for civil servants only to apply.

-- Securities houses expect MTR Corp's (0066.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earnings to fall when its annual results are announced tomorrow. The company only had two station site residential projects to enter the books last year.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- China thwarted an attempt to down an internal passenger flight en route to Beijing last week, a top regional official said. A China Southern flight made a successful emergency landing in Xinjiang and four Uygurs were taken away by police.

-- Current restrictions on institutional investors such as commercial banks and insurance companies should be lifted to enhance the corporate bond market's depth, according to a senior official of China Securities and Regulatory Commission.