HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - NOV 18, 2009

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST:

- China Merchants Securities made a lacklustre debut on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday, posting the smallest
first-day gain among newly listed A-share companies this year
as investors baulked at the inflated price of the brokerage.

- China Metal Recycling (Holdings) was dogged by rumours of
a corporate governance scandal yesterday, with its shares
plunging as much as 45.4 per cent after the company announced
its chief financial officer had resigned amid a dispute over
his access to financial records.

- Central and eastern China were facing the worst natural
gas shortage in years, partly as supplies were diverted to the
snowstorm-battered north, but also because producers lacked
incentives to expand output owing to poor margins, a state
broadcaster said yesterday.

- Meadville Holdings, majority-owned by the family of Chief
Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen, was the biggest gainer on the
Hong Kong stock market yesterday on news it would delist and
sell its printed circuit board business to Nasdaq-listed TTM
Technologies for US$521 million.

- HSBC Holdings (SEHK: 0005) will continue to invest in
Greater China, including opening 13 more branches in Taiwan,
after regulators on the mainland and the island signed
agreements to pave the way for closer financial co-operation.

- Taipei's Chinatrust Financial Holding planned to buy a 30
per cent stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance after it lost a bid
for American International Group's Taiwan unit, said two people
with knowledge of the matter.

- Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment booked a
widely expected net loss of US$39.39 million during the first
full quarter of operations at its US$2.1 billion City of Dreams
mega resort.

- Mobile-telephone use is poised to overtake computers as
the favoured device to access online social networks across the
Asia-Pacific, especially on the mainland, according to a
regional survey by market research firm International Data Corp
(IDC).

- The investment tide in Hong Kong's property market is
turning as more buyers cash in their gains because of fears
that tighter credit conditions and diminishing buying desire
will check the rise in prices this year

THE STANDARD:

- China Strategic Holdings (0235) plans to sell 30 percent
of its stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance to Taiwan's Chinatrust
Financial for US$660 million (HK$5.14 billion).

- Financial companies in the mainland and Taiwan are looking
across the strait for opportunities after their respective
regulators agreed to widen access to each other's markets.

- Broadcaster i-Cable Communications (1097) saw its stock
price surge 44.4 percent after outbidding Now TV for the
broadcasting rights to the Barclays Premier League for the next
three seasons.

- Tycoons and funds continued to pour money into new
listings as China Minsheng Banking convinced Henderson Land
Development (0012) chairman Lee Shau-kee to subscribe to US$100
million (HK$780 million) worth of shares.

- Despite its net interest margin being under pressure, HSBC
(0005) will continue to boost its lending business in Hong
Kong, expecting a recovery when the economy turns around,
according to its Asia-Pacific executive director.

cg

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