HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - NOV 9, 2009

Highlights of today's newspapers:

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST:

- Whether it is in the frigid Athabasca Basin in north Canada, the arid Outback of Australia or the dunes of Namibia in southwest Africa, mainland firms have been eagerly acquiring access to uranium deposits around the world to supplement domestic supply of the raw material for nuclear power.

- Enrolling in a Master of Business Administration programme at an Asian university used to be like eating at an authentic Chinese restaurant, says T.J. Wong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

- China Minsheng Banking Corp, the country's seventh-largest bank, aims to raise as much as US$4.07 billion after setting a price range for its Hong Kong listing, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters.

- Oracle Corp's much-anticipated acquisition of Sun Microsystems will give it more gear and key partnerships to better compete in Asia's fastest-growing information technology market.

- Derek Yung Kai-ming faced an insurance executive's worst nightmare last year when more than 2,000 frightened policyholders rushed to his American International Assurance offices to surrender their policies.

- Despite its scandal-ridden past, Thailand's Advance Agro hopes to create an internationally respected brand of paper that can command a premium price by taking the high road of environment-friendliness and corporate social responsibility.

THE STANDARD:

- Secondary home sales over the weekend improved from last week as sellers made price concessions.

- Mingfa Group will not delay its listing plan further despite a lukewarm response from retail investors, sources said.

- Mainland banks will maintain the growth of new loans at 20 percent next year, despite record lending so far this year, according to a Bank of Communications (3328) report.

- Hong Kong stocks are expected to trade in a narrow range this week as investors closely monitor mainland financial data, according to market watchers.

- Poly (Hong Kong) Investments (0119) said yesterday its contracted sales revenue for the 10 months to October was 7 billion yuan (HK$7.94 billion).

cg

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