Press Digest: Hong Kong - Nov 9

Deep Source Holdings

09/11/2015 01:49

HONG KONG, Nov 9 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading 
stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not 
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   
         
    SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST  
    - Banks are slashing valuations for residential properties, 
in yet another sign of an approaching bear market in the city's 
real estate market. Investment bank Jefferies said banks have 
been trimming valuations by 2 to 15 percent since the end of 
August. Mortgage broker mReferral's analyst Sharmaine Lau said 
lenders are increasingly setting property values below 
transaction prices. (http://bit.ly/1M0Rh8p) 
  
    - Former China Aircraft Leasing Group  1848.HK  chief 
executive Mike Poon, who went off the radar in June, was sighted 
in town last week by several people. Sources said Poon had been 
under detention on the mainland for a graft probe into China 
Southern Airlines  600029.SS . Poon has probably been freed 
after giving the authorities the information they wanted, a 
source with knowledge of the investigation said. (http://bit.ly/1Nld9cv) 
    - Global hotel chain Marriott International  MAR.O  has 
unveiled an aggressive expansion plan in China that includes 
entering more than 20 second- and third-tier cities in four 
years. Marriott already has hotels in 26 Chinese cities while 
Craig Smith, the managing director of Marriott Asia-Pacific, 
said he wants to make that 50-plus cities in three to four 
years. (http://bit.ly/1MtAnkc) 
 
    THE STANDARD 
    - Frequent shadow visitors who join group tours to Hong Kong 
will be red-flagged and reported to mainland authorities, the 
Travel Industry Council Chairman Michael Wu said. If it is 
discovered that people have joined group tours to Hong Kong 
three times in two months, their names will be handed to the 
China National Tourism Administration, he added. (http://bit.ly/1PwEflp) 
  
    - Swire Properties  1972.HK  has been looking at potential 
opportunities in first-tier cities in China although its prime 
focus remains its new projects, including a mixed-used 
development in Chengdu, says Chief Executive Guy Bradley. The 
firm is interested only in projects in prime locations of Tier-I 
cities that offer reasonable returns, Bradley said. (http://bit.ly/1QnNG7x) 
         
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL  
    - Retail outlets operator Theme International Holdings Ltd 
 0990.HK  said it would scale down its garment business in 
Taiwan amid competitive environment in garment retail business 
and rising operating costs, as well as the poor financial 
performance of its retailing segment. 
         
    For Chinese newspapers, see............... PRESS/CN  
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com)(+852 2843 6470)(Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST HONGKONG/