Hong Kong  - Asia's richest woman, according to court testimony, was the lover of a feng shui master for 14 years before leaving him her entire multibillion-US-dollar fortune, a news report said Saturday.

Lawyers for feng shui master Tony Chan said he and Nina Wang shared a "long-lasting, close and affectionate love" from 1993 to her death last year, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong has fallen into recession after recording a second consecutive quarter of contracting economic growth between July and September, according to government figures Friday.

The rate of gross domestic product growth in the city of 6.9 million fell from 4.2 per cent between April and June to 1.7 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same quarters last year.

The figure represented a 0.5 per cent contraction in growth from the previous quarter, the second consecutive quarterly contraction, meaning Hong Kong is now in a technical recession.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong fell into a recession Friday as government figures showed a second quarter of contracted growth with the economy growing just 1.7 per cent in the year's third quarter.

The rate of gross domestic product growth in the city of 6.9 million fell from 4.2 per cent in the second quarter to 1.7 per cent in the third, according to official figures.

The Hong Kong government responded by revising downwards its growth forecasts for the year from 4 to 5 per cent to between 3 and 3.5 per cent, meaning it anticipates a possible fourth quarter contraction.

Hong Kong  - Bargain-hunters drove Hong Kong share prices up by more than 2 per cent Friday as nerves eased slightly following heavy losses a day earlier.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 321.31 points, or 2.43 per cent, to end the week at 13,542.66 points. Turnover was a relatively light 44.7 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.76 billion US dollars).

The minor rebound came after the index fell back more than 5 per cent Thursday. Shares jumped more than 3.5 per cent in early trading Friday but fell back later in the day.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong might speed up infrastructure projects to boost employment as the economic downturn costs the city thousands of jobs, the territory's deputy leader said Friday.

The announcement came a day after 4,000 Hong Kong construction workers found they were among 11,000 staff who would lose their jobs as casino building works are halted in neighbouring Macau.

Hong Kong - Eleven years after it ceased to be a British colony, English remains the most important language to master in Hong Kong's business and professional world, according to a survey released Friday.

Written English was rated the most important language skill in a survey of more than 2,0000 ethnic Chinese professionals, followed by the local dialect Cantonese and then spoken English.