Press Digest: Hong Kong - Oct 27

Hang Lung Properties

27/10/2015 01:48

Oct 27 (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.   
         
    SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST  
    - The number of non-local companies with offices in Hong 
Kong has hit a record level despite uncertainty in the global 
economy, a government study has found. Some 7,904 companies had 
offices in the city as of June, a year-on-year increase of 4.2 
percent, the research by Invest Hong Kong and the Census and 
Statistics Department showed. The fastest growth was among 
mainland companies. (http://bit.ly/1Lyacr1) 
    - Hong Kong's financial secretary John Tsang acknowledged 
the growing concern for Hong Kong's financial markets as the 
U.S. Federal Reserve convenes a meeting on Tuesday to discuss a 
potential interest-rate increase. Tsang said the local market is 
continuing to operate in a smooth and orderly fashion and have 
not seen any liquidity problems in the banking system. (http://bit.ly/1jMzHfg) 
     
    THE STANDARD 
    - A government building in Mong Kok is being vacated and 
will be put on the market this year to provide 26,000 square 
meters for the commercial sector, Financial Secretary John Tsang 
 said. The government is planning the construction of a number 
of buildings in various districts for the phased relocation of 
the three government office buildings near the Wanchai 
waterfront, Tsang added. (http://bit.ly/1MnUFNX) 
    - Sixty-eight candidates in 431 district council 
constituencies were automatically elected on Monday after 
running unopposed. The rest of the 363 seats will be contested 
by 867 candidates in the Nov. 22 election. The government  
gazetted that the nominations obtained by 935 candidates running 
at the district council elections were valid. (http://bit.ly/1WeC0sB) 
    - Market watchers and investors are forecasting local home 
prices diving as much as 20 percent within a year. Veteran 
analyst Andrew Look Tung does not expect prices to fall more 
than 20 percent, while property agency Midland Realty predicts a 
5 percent slide in local home prices before the end of the year. 
(http://bit.ly/1Mfrw16) 
         
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL  
    - Hong Kong residential property price is set to fall 32 
percent from the current peak level in the coming four years, of 
which a decline in land price is seen to provide developers, 
including Sino Land  0083.HK  Cheung Kong Property  1113.HK , 
New World Development  0017.HK  and Hang Lung Properties 
 0101.HK , an opportunity to increase their land bank, according 
to a Deutsche Bank research. 
     
    For Chinese newspapers, see............... PRESS/CN   
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Editing by Anand Basu) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6470; Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST HONGKONG/