HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - FEB 3, 2012.

HONG KONG, Feb 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST:
- After years of steady growth thanks to strong demand from deep-pocketed mainland tourists, jewellery shops should brace for tougher times, with sales growth in luxury goods including jewellery and watches slowing for a seventh straight month.
- As Facebook prepares for its US$5 billion initial public offering (IPO) in the US, the social-networking giant's high-profile investor in Hong Kong is keeping silent about his plans for the much-anticipated listing.
- The stock market rally at the start of this year helped the city's pension fund turn around in January to record one of its best months after a disastrous year.
- Beijing has for the first time released the names of 515 companies seeking approval for initial public offerings, in an effort to make the system more transparent.
- The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation plans to roll out a HK$100 million lending scheme for the self-employed and fund-starved businesses in the government's latest move to support smaller firms.
- United Energy, a firm controlled by mainland tycoon Zhang Hongwei and supported by a US$5 billion credit facility from China Development Bank, is seeking to buy oil-and-gas assets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the United States.
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the state-owned parent of listed dominant offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC (SEHK: 0883) Limited, has agreed to pour US$300 million toward a Tianjin-based joint venture with Spanish solar-panel maker Isofoton.
THE STANDARD:
- The much-delayed bridge being built to link Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai is facing yet another barrier.
- Smartphone users may soon kiss so- called unlimited data use goodbye after SmarTone Telecom (0315) became the first telco to stop offering such plans.
- Individuals yearning to start a business, the self- employed and those undertaking self-enhancement training will be entitled to borrow up to HK$300,000 each through a microfinancing pilot scheme proposed by the government.
- Chinalco, the parent of Aluminum Corporation of China, also known as Chalco (2600), plans to list its engineering unit in Hong Kong.
- Residents and visitors spent HK$1.3 billion a day in December, driving retail sales during a month of festivities and year- end celebrations.
- Central Huijin Investment Company will cut the dividend payout at banks by 5 percent to allow lenders to preserve capital, mainland media reported.
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