HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 16, 2009
HONG KONG, Dec 16, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --
Highlights of today's newspapers:
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST:
- Hong Kong's appetite for new shares has shown little sign of waning, with investors ploughing their cash into luxury department store operator PCD Stores (Group), which debuted on the stock exchange yesterday.
- Beijing will slash import tariffs on more than 600 products including coal and high-powered engines next year, a move in line with its commitments to the World Trade Organisation.
- Modern Beauty Salon Holdings, the largest beauty service chain in Hong Kong, announced yesterday the removal of its chief operating officer.
- Internet firm Alibaba.com (SEHK: 1688) expects profits to climb next year on the back of its growing subscriber base, rising domestic consumption and the mainland's improving foreign trade, according to chief executive David Wei Zhe.
- A former senior executive of HSBC (SEHK: 0005, announcements, news) Broking Services (Asia) charged with accepting bribes for helping a businessman buy shares of a listed company four years ago admitted yesterday that he provided false information to the Securities and Futures Commission during its investigation of the matter.
- The rebound in Hong Kong's fund industry this year will continue, but next year's improvement will be driven by better company earnings and fundamentals rather than liquidity, according to industry players.
- Apartments in a luxury Beijing project that had lain semi-finished and abandoned for almost a decade before construction resumed under new ownership two years ago have been sold to Hong Kong buyers at near-record prices.
THE STANDARD:
- Shares in Hong Kong and the mainland reversed earlier losses, led by banks and refiners, after Dubai said it had received US$10 billion (HK$78 billion) from fellow United Arab Emirates member Abu Dhabi, soothing worries about the economic outlook.
- Sunac China Holdings is scrapping its HK$2.22 billion flotation plan, the second listing deal aborted by a mainland homes developer this year.
- The Securities and Futures Commission is concerned about unusual price movements involving firms listed in Hong Kong by way of introduction, and has urged the bourse operator to review the mechanism.
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) (0349) has bought a 10 percent stake in the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange as a founding shareholder.
- SOHO China (0410) is confident of reaching more than 13 billion yuan (HK$14.75 billion) in sales this year.
cg
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