HONG KONG, April 17 (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.
HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES
APPLE DAILY
– Developer Cheung Kong’s (0001.HK) marketing strategy of selling its new estate in Tin Siu Wai at lower prices drew a positive response. Sales of the first batch began last night and 700 of the 1068 units were sold in the first five hours. Sales continued overnight.
SING TAO DAILY
– China Mengniu Diary (2319.HK) dipped into the red for the first time since it was listed in 2004. It reported a net loss of 949 million yuan ($138.9 million) for 2008. The company was hurt by a tainted milk scandal but it said sales had returned to 80 percent of the pre-scandal level.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
– Hong Kong’s “strong foundation” will sustain it through the financial crisis, but how it fares as a financial centre depends on how well it maintains its traditional openness, said former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is on a two-day private visit to the city.
– Bank of East Asia (0023.HK) plans to review its dividend policy after small shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with the final dividend for last year.
THE STANDARD
– Hong Kong and the World Health Organisation went on the alert on Thursday amid fears of a recurrence of SARS after a mainland woman who had developed breathing problems died on a train in Russia.
HONG KONG DAILY NEWS
– China Eastern Airlines (0670.HK), after reporting a record loss among listed companies at 15.27 billion yuan for 2008, said it only expected a slight net loss for 2009 and predicted a return to profit in 2010.
WEN WEI PO
Exports of Hong Kong products fell 38.8 percent in February and re-exports of Hong Kong goods were down 22.2 percent in the same month, partly affected by the Chinese New year holidays, which fell in February this year but in January last year, according to the latest figures.
TA KUNG PAO
– Beijing will focus on the development of 10 major infrastructure projects this month with a total investment of 19.6 billion yuan, of which 10.4 billion yuan will be completed this year.
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