Accountants get nod for SZ partner

China's finance ministry approved a plan of allowing qualified Hong Kong accountants to hold partnerships in accounting firms in Shenzhen's Qianhai zone, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website on Wednesday.

The plan will support the development of Hong Kong's accounting business, the statement says.

Agile chairman's arrest no impact

Moody's Investors Service says the arrest of Mr Chen Zhou Lin, Chairman of Agile Property Holdings Limited, by the Hong Kong Police in connection with an allegation of indecent assault, is credit negative. However, the arrest has no immediate impact on the company's Ba2 corporate family and senior unsecured ratings, as well as its stable outlook.

Longyuan Power output up 12%

China Longyuan Power Group Corporation Limited said its total power output for the year as at Aug 31 was 18.65 million MWh, a 12 percent increase from a year ago, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.

Wind power generation in August increased 67 percent from a year ago; coal power generation was down 5.4 percent; other renewable energy production jumped by 237 percent, the company said in the statement.

New NVC Lighting ops committee

NVC Lighting Technology Corporation, a major manufacturer of lighting products on the mainland, has formed a new operations committee to take over responsibilities of the current management committee and oversee day-to-day operations, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Former chairman, founder Wu Changjiang will lead the new operations committee, the company said.

Other members of the committee include Zhang Kaipeng, CEO; Tan Ying, CFO; Zhu Hai; Mu Yu and Wang Minghua, it said in the statement.

Lai Fung Devt to seek HK$3.5b loan

Lai Sun Development Company Limited is seeking as much as HK$3.5 billion loan.

The loan will be split into about HK$1 billion-equivalent facility done onshore in China for the purposes of refinancing debt from an onshore facility, Chew Fook Aun, an executive director of the company, said.

The remainder of the loan will be done offshore, he said.

The facility may be denominated in either US dollars or Hong Kong dollars, Chew said.

The facility will have a tenor of three years and proceeds will be used for projects in China, Chew said in a separate interview Aug 31.

HK stocks fall to 6-week lowest

Hong Kong stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index to its lowest close in six weeks, after US manufacturing unexpectedly contracted for a third month and on a report China's industrial output may slow.

Li & Fung Ltd, a supplier of clothes and toys to retailers that gets 60 percent of sales from the US, dropped 2.5 percent. Lenovo Group Ltd sank 7.6 percent after Japan's NEC Corp sold its stake in the personal-computer maker. China Minsheng Banking Corp, the nation's first non-state lender, sank 3.7 percent after its equity rating was cut at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Hang Seng Index slid 1.5 percent to 19145.07, its lowest close since July 26. All but three stocks declined in the 49-member gauge, with volume 39 percent above the 30-day average. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies dropped 1.9 percent to close at 9020.34, its lowest since October.

Futures on the Hang Seng Index retreated 1.3 percent to 19067.

Reuters - Bloomberg

(HK Edition 09/06/2012 page2)