HK shares at 3-wk high as properties, metals rally

* HK shares rise for fifth straight session

* Properties rally on rate cuts

* Metal stocks higher on Yunnan stockpile plan

(Updates to close)

By Jun Ebias

HONG KONG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rose 1.6 percent to a three-week high on Monday, as property stocks gained on hopes of better sales, while news that China's Yunnan province would buy 1 million tonnes of base metals lifted metal stocks.

Jiangxi Copper (0358.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 8.2 percent, Aluminun Corp of China (2600.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 4.5 percent, while Maanshan Iron (0323.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped 8.3 percent.

A report on the Ministry of Land and Resources's website said Yunnan would build a stockpile of copper, aluminum and other base metals to help smelters in the region. [ID:nHKG1779521].

"Metal stocks will be getting a lot of support from the government," said Benjamin Collett, head of hedge fund sales at SMBC Co. "China will be spending a lot of money on infrastructure and that will require a lot of raw materials."

Hong Kong developer Sino Land (0083.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 7.7 percent, while Hong Kong's top developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), gained 1.5 percent.

A Sun Hung Kai spokesperson said on Monday the company had sold more than 200 units in its Peak One luxury residential development in Shatin at the weekend at an average of HK$7,300-7,500 a square foot. It also sold more than 300 units of its La Grove project in Yuen Long in the New Territories.

"Developers are supported by lower mortgage rates at banks, providing a short-term stimulus for property sales," said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed the session up 220.60 points at 14,108.84, led by a 2.3 percent rise in China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

A total of HK$43.9 billion ($5.6 billion) worth of shares were traded, up from HK$42.4 billion on Friday.

Foxconn International Holdings (2038.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which makes handsets for Nokia, rose 8.5 percent, buoyed by higher consumer spending in the U.S. over the weekend. [ID:nN30476271]

Chinese lenders gained on hopes that lower interest rates in the mainland would spur the domestic economy and help sustain demand for loans and other financial services.

China's top lender, ICBC (1398.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), rose nearly 4 percent, while China Construction Bank (0939.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 4.7 percent.

The Chinese central bank last week made its deepest rate cut in a decade to stimulate domestic demand. China also announced this month a plan to build affordable homes as part of a $586 billion package to stimulate the economy.

China Overseas Land (0688.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rallied 9.6 percent, while R&F Properties (2777.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 12.8 percent, and China Resources Land (1109.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) soared 9.7 percent.

The China Enterprise Index of top locally listed mainland Chinese firms .HSCE rose 2.6 percent to 7,391.69.

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (0388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rallied 4.9 percent on optimism that the local stock market may sustain last week's 9.7 percent gain.

But TVB (0511.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) bucked the broad market trend to fall 2.8 percent. Its general manager, Stephen Chan, was quoted by local radio station RTHK as saying the TV station planned to lay off 212 employees. (Additional reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)