Press Digest: Hong Kong - Sept 11

CEC International Holdings

11/09/2015 03:13

HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading 
stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not 
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   
         
    SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST  
    - Cathay Pacific  0293.HK  will begin direct flights to 
Madrid from next summer in what analysts say is the airline 
throwing down the gauntlet to Middle Eastern carriers in 
competition for routes between Spain and Asia. Cathay Pacific 
chief executive Ivan Chu said network expansion is its core 
strategy, and it is committed to expanding its presence in 
Europe. (http://bit.ly/1gdb3Sl) 
    - The new Apple  AAPL.O  iPhone will give Hong Kong's 
battered retail sector a shot in the arm, experts say, as the 
price difference between Hong Kong and the mainland will help 
stimulate demand from across the border. ANZ senior economist 
Raymond Yeung said sales of the phone will give an obvious 
short-term boost to retail sales and help top-line retail sales 
in September and October. (http://bit.ly/1KHLGq1) 
    - Sun Hung Kai Properties  0016.HK  will triple annual flat 
completions to more than 3 million sq ft over the next three 
years amid an economic slowdown that is starting to weigh on 
buying demand. Deputy managing director Mike Wong said it should 
be its largest number of flat completions since 1997. 
        
    THE STANDARD 
    - ATV is preparing a new free-to-air TV application after a 
mainland white knight said it is ready to invest HK$10 billion  
($1.29 billion) in the broadcaster. ATV executive director Ip 
Ka-po said China Culture Media International, a unit of 
Qingdao-based Sino Group, bought 41.66 percent of ATV shares 
from majority shareholder Wong Ben-koon. (http://bit.ly/1O4xDvh) 
  
    - The recent surge in local home prices could ease due to 
the prevailing bleak economic outlook. But for the time being, 
demand remains robust, especially for small flats, analysts 
said. Kowloon Development  0034.HK  is setting the price for the 
next batch of units at Upper East, a mega residential scheme in 
Hunghom, 5 percent higher than the previous batch. (http://bit.ly/1UKlRoK) 
         
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL  
    - CLSA has recommended reducing the weighting of retail 
stocks because Hong Kong has lost its advantage as a shopping 
paradise amid local currency strength while tourists choose to 
visit Japan and Korea. It picked "Louis Vuitton Speedy 30" 
handbag as an example saying the retail price in Hong Kong is 40 
percent higher than in France and the U.S., and is 20 percent 
higher than in Japan and Korea. 
       
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES 
    - Snack and beverages chain operator CEC International 
Holdings Ltd  0759.HK  has teamed up with China's largest 
privately owned logistic group, SF Express, to sell snacks and 
beverages in 12 of the logistic group's parcel collection 
stations in Hong Kong, according to CEC chairman Lam Wai-chun. 
 
    For Chinese newspapers, see............... PRESS/CN    
($1 = 7.7498 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Sunil Nair) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com)(+852 2843 6470)(Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST HONGKONG/