October mortgage loan approvals fall 5.9 pct

New mortgage loans approved in Hong Kong in October fell 5.9 percent to HK$13.7 billion from the previous month, according to Hong Kong Monetary Authority data released yesterday.

The number of new mortgage applications fell 10.3 percent. The value of new mortgage loans drawn down was at HK$11.3 billion, down 2.6 percent from the previous month.

HK dollar ends off day's low, interbank rates firm

The Hong Kong dollar recouped some early losses to end marginally lower against the US dollar yesterday as some short-term players took profits.

The local currency was trading at 7.7547/49 against the US dollar at 0859 GMT, slightly softer than late Tuesday trade in Asia, after hitting a five-week low of 7.7568 early in the morning.

Shenzhen mayor upbeat despite weak economy

China's economic hub of Shenzhen is reeling from the economic crisis with tens of thousands of layoffs and plunging property prices, but the mayor said yesterday he remained upbeat on its full year GDP growth.

"The financial crisis has indeed impacted the real economy," Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng told reporters, saying over 50,000 workers had been laid off from 682 failed enterprises in the Shenzhen area over the past year. Xu said Shenzhen was still on track to meet its 12 percent GDP growth forecast this year. Prior to the downturn, however, Shenzhen had averaged GDP growth of 27 percent between 1980-2007, Xu said in a speech.

SAR exports up just 0.5 percent last month

Hong Kong's exports in October probably rose by just 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the slowest annual growth since June as advanced economies weakened, a Reuters survey shows. Exports in September, totaling HK$247 billion, rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier, below a 7.8 percent increase in exports for the first nine months of this year.

Pixel warns full-year profits loss

Hong Kong-based online advertising group Pixel Interactive Media Ltd warned its pretax profits for the full year will fall short of market expectations on margin pressures due to increased competition.

Pixel's current net cash position at the end of October stood at $4.8 million.

Shares of Pixel were indicated 39 percent lower at 11 pence at 0745 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.

Reuters

(HK Edition 11/27/2008 page2)