UPDATE 1-PRESS DIGEST - China - April 28

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 28 (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.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- The rate of growth in housing prices in China will slow significantly this year compared with 2007 due to tightening moves by the government, but prices overall are unlikely to fall, said the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the government's top think tank.

-- Formerly non-tradable shares worth 687 million yuan ($98 million) were sold via a bulk trading system from April 22 to April 25. Beijing issued rules on April 20 requiring the sale of shares freed up from lock-up periods to be conducted via block trading to forestall a stock market slide.

-- China's securities regulator will promote the steady development of the country's futures market and encourage the participation of more institutional investors, said Jiang Yang, assistant to the chief of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

-- China's consumer inflation is expected to ease to 7.8 percent in the second quarter, down from 8.0 percent in the first quarter, a research centre of Beijing University said, citing forecasts of 15 Chinese and overseas research institutions.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- China's securities regulator will take steps to improve the way initial public offerings are conducted to narrow the price gap between new shares on the primary and secondary markets, according to an unidentified official with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.