Hong Kong - The Jockey Club, which controls all legalized betting in Hong Kong, saw revenue surge in two of its three core businesses, it said Friday.

The rise came despite the threat from illegal operators and increasing deregulation in other parts of Asia, including Macau, where there has been a boom in the gaming industry after the government opened the sector in 2002.

The club said betting revenue from horse racing climbed 5.8 per cent last season, which ended in July, from the previous season, hitting nearly 67.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.68 billion dollars)

Revenue from football betting surged more than 14 per cent to 34.5 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Hong Kong - The shortage of men in Hong Kong is apparently deepening, with the latest government statistics showing that there were only 904 men for every 1,000 women in the city, a media report said Friday.

This continued a trend that began in 1996, when women first started to outnumber men, the South China Morning Post said. In 2006, there were 912 men for every 1,000 women, compared with 956 men for every 1,000 women in 2001.

The government's latest edition of "Women and Men in Hong Kong - key statistics," showed 3,287,400 men and 3,638,500 women last year in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong - Launching a minimum wage or increasing regulatory policies could undermine Hong Kong's economic growth, the head of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce told a newspaper in a report published Monday.

But Hong Kong is unlikely to face an economic downturn on the same scale as that seen during the Asian financial crisis 10 years ago, the Standard newspaper said, quoting Andrew Brandler.

"The government has to be careful when formulating policies," Brandler said. "Increasing regulations may bring unforeseen and undesired consequences as they may increase costs, especially under such a fragile economy as we have now."

Hong Kong - A spate of ambulance breakdowns, including one in which an elderly man later died, has been blamed on hot, humid weather in Hong Kong, a media report said Monday.

Six ambulances have broken down since July 20 while responding to emergency calls including two on Sunday, the Standard newspaper said.

The breakdowns came as fire services chiefs are planning to spend 120 million Hong Kong dollars (15.4 million US dollars) replacing nearly half the fleet of 250 ambulances within the next 18 months.

Hong Kong - Two hungry sisters, aged seven and 10, dialed police after being left home alone in the Choi Hung area of the city, a media report said Saturday.

Police later arrested their father, 38, for suspected child abuse, the South China Morning Post said.

The two girls were taken to Queen Elizabeth hospital for examination although they showed no signs of injury.