Hong Kong shares close down 4.38%

Hong Kong shares fell 4.38 per cent yesterday to their lowest close in more than two years on new fears about the Eurozone debt crisis after Greece said it would miss the deficit target set by the IMF and EU. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 770.26 points to end at 16,822.15 on turnover of HK$76.37 billion ($9.8 billion). It was the lowest close since May 15, 2009. Chinese financial and property stocks led the fall on concerns over tighter lending policies and fears banks could be left holding significant amounts of bad debt. Officials in the Chinese city of Wenzhou — a key hub of China's private economy — on Thursday urged banks to limit lending rates and make more funds available to small businesses amid worries about a credit crunch.