PRESS DIGEST - Hong Kong - Aug 12

HONG KONG, Aug 12 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Mainland bourses lost more than five percent on Monday. On a day described as "black Monday", the Shanghai index fell near 20-month lows.

APPLE DAILY

-- CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc 8222.HK reported an 87 percent decrease in net profit to HK$8.3 million ($1.06 million) the first half of this year. Investment losses dragged down profit while income from its core products rose 80 percent.

-- Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Bill Gates will visit Hong Kong on Tuesday for his first public speaking engagement in the city since 1999. His company's local chief says Hong Kong-made software application development is outstanding and the city could bring in professionals from the mainland to strengthen skills.

SING TAO DAILY

-- Lifestyle International Holdings (1212.HK) posted a 42 percent increase in interim profit to HK$606 million as its retail stores reported increased sales.

MING PAO DAILY NEWS

-- Hong Kong Stock Exchange (0388.HK) is expected to report a 30 percent rise in interim profit to about HK$3.1 billion. But a weaker second half could result in a decline in full-year earnings.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- An offer of HK$100 million was not enough to settle the marathon tussle between the Bank of East Asia (0023.HK) and the owner of Tatami Hampton, the Mong Kok budget hotel embroiled in a long-running debt row. The lender rejected the offer.

-- Angang Steel (0347.HK), the listed flagship of China's second-largest steelmaker, is expected to face tougher times down the road despite posting a better than expected 24.8 per cent gain in first-half earnings.

THE STANDARD

-- An unexpected 12-year record high producer prices index in July undermined China's better-than-expected export growth for the same period, squeezing corporate margins and suggesting inflationary pressures still threaten. However, economists continue to expect that China consumer price inflation - due for release on Tuesday - to fall to 6.6 percent in July.

-- Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) will cut the number of flights to North America by 10 per week in an attempt to offset the impact of soaring fuel prices.