Hong Kong shares fall as yuan slides, China Resources Beer tumbles

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong stocks fell on Wednesday as the Chinese yuan hit a fresh 5-1/2 year low against the dollar while worries about global growth and the long-run implications of Brexit hammered risky assets of all types.

The Hang Seng index dropped 1.2 per cent to 20,495.29. The China Enterprises Index slid 1.6 per cent to 8,503.14.

The yuan fell to fresh 5-1/2 year lows against the dollar on Wednesday, extending its slide to a fifth straight session, after China's central bank sharply weakened its official guidance rate as the dollar surged.

HSBC fell 1.3 per cent.

China Resources Beer tumbled more than 4 per cent, its worse day since January, after the owner of Snow said it seeks to raise US$1.2 billion via a deeply discounted rights offer to partly fund the purchase of SABMiller PLC's stake in their joint venture.

REUTERS