Press Digest: Hong Kong - Nov 13

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels

13/11/2015 02:16

HONG KONG, Nov 13 (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  
    - Hongkongers are expected to receive a pay hike of 4.5 
percent on average next year and mainlanders are expected to get 
a raise of 8 percent. Human resources consultancy ECA 
International's regional director Lee Quane said Hong Kong 
employers were willing to offer a hike of 4.5 percent in order 
to retain staff despite cautions about the city's economic 
outlook amid slowdown on the mainland. (http://bit.ly/1MMKvQR) 
    - A record number of Hongkongers travelled to Japan in the 
first nine months of this year to take advantage of a 
depreciating yen, and tourism officials there don't expect the 
growth momentum to lose steam any time soon. Japan lured a total 
of 1.1 million visitors from Hong Kong up to September, up 68.5 
percent from the same period last year, according to data from 
the Japan National Tourism Organisation. (http://bit.ly/1SLcTIi) 
    - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the government should not 
restrict mainlanders' overseas purchases but provide them with 
even greater freedom in what they buy. According to statistics 
from the Ministry of Commerce, mainland tourists made more than 
100 million visits to other countries and regions last year, and 
overseas spending exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($157 billion). (http://bit.ly/1lmohiQ) 
  
     
    THE STANDARD 
    - Chinese Estates  0127.HK  sold another project to mainland 
developer Evergrande Real Estate Group  3333.HK , breaking the 
record for the most expensive building sold in Hong Kong in 
terms of both the lump sum and price per sq ft. Mass Mutual 
Tower, a 26-storey Grade A office building in Wan Chai, changed 
hands for HK$12.5 billion ($1.6 billion). (http://bit.ly/1QyYS15) 
  
    - Hong Kong property billionaire Joseph Lau spent $76.9 
million to buy two mega diamonds. Lau spent $48.4 million at 
Sotheby's auction in Geneva to buy a 12.03-carat Blue Moon 
diamond, and another $28.5 million on a 16.08-carat pink diamond 
at Christie's auction. A spokeswoman for Lau confirmed the two 
purchases. (http://bit.ly/1SMt5t0) 
  
    - Two-thirds of 417 experienced cosmeticians in a survey 
believe the trade is on a downward spiral. The Cosmetic and 
Perfumery Association of Hong Kong also found in its 
August-October poll that almost 40 percent of respondents said 
their income was hit by a slump in business this year, and half 
have considered changing jobs. (http://bit.ly/1MavATp) 
         
    HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL  
    - Accounting firm Deloitte estimates the Hong Kong 
government to see a HK$40 billion ($5.2 billion) fiscal surplus 
by the end of March, down from HK$72.8 billion in the previous 
year, due to a decline in income from land sales and stamp duty. 
    - Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd  0045.HK  said the 
occupancy rate of The Peninsula Hotels in Hong Kong was 71 
percent in the third quarter, down 3 percentage points from the 
same period last year, while the average room rate fell 8 
percent from a year ago period to HK$4,334 per room a night. 
  
    For Chinese newspapers, see............... PRESS/CN    
($1 = 7.7496 Hong Kong dollars) 
($1 = 6.3687 Chinese yuan) 
 
 (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/