Press Digest: Hong Kong - Dec 3

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels

03/12/2015 02:08

HONG KONG, Dec 3 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading 
stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not 
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   
         
    SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST  
    - Although the recent retail and tourism downturn in Hong 
Kong has cast a shadow over this year's Hong Kong Brands and 
Products Expo, its organiser is confident that sales can grow 10 
percent from last year. Chinese Manufacturers' Association 
president Eddy Li said exhibitors mainly sold goods for daily 
consumption at affordable prices while support of the local 
community was important. (http://bit.ly/1l9B8F6) 
  
    - Online food traders will be required to display licences 
on their websites and ensure proper temperature during delivery, 
under a new set of guidelines announced on Wednesday, seen as a 
reaction to several food scandals this year. Health secretary Ko 
Wing-man said the measures will come into force in the first 
quarter of 2016. (http://bit.ly/1Ro2IdZ) 
    - Hong Kong workers who lost their jobs in the sudden 
closure of five outlets of global fast food chain Burger King 
have approached the Labour Department for help. The affected 
stores were operated by a franchisee Perfect Combo, which was 
taken to court several times this year over unpaid rental. Two 
other outlets operated by another franchisee on The Peak and in 
the airport remain open. (http://bit.ly/1MXg2Tl) 
        
    THE STANDARD 
    - Hong Kong's iconic 127-year-old Peak Tram will continue to 
roll for another 10 years and will undergo a HK$600 million  
($77.4 million) upgrade. The operating extension was approved by 
Executive Council and will be effective from January 1. The tram 
operator, Peak Tramways, is owned by Hong Kong and Shanghai 
Hotels  0045.HK , the owner of The Peninsula hotel. (http://bit.ly/1XInuVw) 
  
    - Legendary comic artist Tony Wong Yuk-long will soon have a 
theme park of his own in the mainland. The HK$800 million ($103 
million) Tony Land and Studios will be built at Qiandao Lake in 
Hangzhou in mid-2018, near the Shanghai Disneyland, which is due 
to open next year. Wong said the park will be a "boutique 
version" of Disneyland and Universal Studios. (http://bit.ly/1Tx4HvM) 
  
    - New World China  0917.HK  and its parent New World 
Development  0017.HK  are to cash in HK$16.36 billion ($2.11 
billion) by selling three mainland projects to Evergrande Real 
Estate Group  3333.HK . The firms said the deal enables them to 
unlock the value of their investments and boost liquidity. (http://bit.ly/1QfPPlb) 
         
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL  
    - Hong Kong Monetary Authority deputy chief executive Peter 
Pang Sing-tong said he referred his son for an internship in 
2006 at JP Morgan Chase, but did not influence the hiring 
decision beyond sending his son's curriculum vitae. The 
authority chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam said he did not 
see any big problem with what Pang had done. 
    
    MING PAO DAILY 
    - Hong Kong saw the lowest number of home deals in nearly 20 
years with 2,826 residential transactions registered for both 
new and old homes in November, down 14 percent from 3,300 deals 
in October and was the lowest since 1996, according to data from 
the Land Registry. 
      
    For Chinese newspapers, see............... PRESS/CN    
($1 = 7.7499 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com)(+852 2843 6470)(Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PRESS DIGEST HONGKONG/