HK stocks seen dropping after 3-day gaining streak

HONG KONG, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks should fall on
Friday after advancing for three straight days, with a downbeat
economic outlook by the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman set to
prompt investors to lock in recent gains.

Ben Bernanke told U.S. lawmakers the outlook for the economy
had worsened in recent months [ID:nN14460360]. Moreover, trouble
in the U.S. municipal bond market and revelations that Swiss Bank
UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) (UBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was saddled with tens of billions of
dollars in new exposure to risky U.S. debt could pressure
financial shares, especially global bank HSBC Holdings plc
(0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research).

Conita Hung, head of equity markets at Delta Asia Financial,
said Hong Kong shares were set to trade around 23,500 points, or
about 2 percent lower from Thursday's close.

"There's no major news from the local market, so we'll follow
the U.S.," Hung said. "For the blue chips, the main pressure will
come from the heavyweights, HSBC and China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research)."

The benchmark Hang Seng index .HSI rose 3.7 percent to
24,021.68 on Thursday. The China Enterprises Index of Hong
Kong-listed mainland companies .HSCE gained 4.7 percent to
13,550.99.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

* Champion REIT 2778.HK will pay HK$12.5 billion ($1.6
billion) to buy a Hong Kong office and retail complex from Great
Eagle Holdings Ltd (0041.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), it said on Thursday, in the first
major post-IPO acquisition by any of the city's property trusts.

Both companies are expected to resume trade on Friday.

To fund the purchase of the Langham Place property, including
all but four floors of a 59-storey office tower, a 15-storey
shopping mall and a 250-space private car park, Champion will
take out a bank loan and issue convertible bonds and REIT units.
* China Unicom Ltd (0762.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) said it would adjust its current
mobile roaming charges and upgrade its billing system to comply
with a reduction in tariff caps for domestic mobile roaming
services, with a tariff cap for callers being set at 0.6 yuan per
minute, a tariff cap for receivers at 0.4 yuan per minute and
abolishing additional charge for use of long distance network in
the context of domestic roaming.

The company said the adjustments may have an impact on
revenue and it will expand customer base, develop value-added
services and strengthen existing services to minimise the impact.

* Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd (2318.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) said
the premium incomes of Ping An Life Insurance Company of China
Ltd, Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China Ltd,
Ping An Health Insurance Company of China Ltd and Ping An Annuity
Insurance Company of China Ltd were 10.82 billion yuan, 3.18
billion yuan, 2.71 million yuan and 519.6 million yuan,
respectively, for the period from January 1 to 31, 2008. For
details please see
here

* Film distributor and cinema operator Golden Harvest
Entertainment (Holdings) Ltd (1132.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) said it would sell all its
50 percent interests in a cinema operator in Malaysia to a unit
of Tanjong Public Company Ltd (TJPL.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) for HK$96.5 million,
allowing the Hong Kong company to deploy capital resources to the
greater China market. For details please see
here

FACTORS TO WATCH:
* Nikkei .N225 down 1 percent, economic fears revive [.T]
* U.S. stocks falls sharply on credit market worry [.N]
* STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Market factors, main events [STXNEWS/ASIA]
* Oil surges on supply worries, economic data [O/R]
* Dollar dip as Bernanke cites growth risks [USD/]
* For upcoming Hong Kong events, click on [HK/DIARY]
* For Hong Kong press digest, click on [PRESS/HK]

KEY HK ADR MOVERS (by % change)

Aluminum Corp (ACH.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(2600.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) +2.9

China Unicom (CHU.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(0762.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) +1.6

China South Air (ZNH.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(1055.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) -3.8

Semiconductor Mfng (SMI.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(0981.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) -4.1

Sinopec Shanghai Petroleum (SHI.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(0338.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) -4.9
(US$1=HK$7.8)
(Reporting by Rita Chang; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)