* Hang Seng Index near five-month high in subdued volume
* Shanghai stocks flat ahead of holidays
* Local property plays up in HK, Cheung Kong gains 2.1 pct
* BYD Co extends gains, advancing 17 percent in two days (Updates to midday)
By Vikram S Subhedar and Farah Master
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai were little changed by the midday break on Monday, with investors trimming positions ahead of regional holidays and as U.S. markets remained rangebound.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the morning up 0.1 percent at 21,993.25, just shy of resistance at the 22,000-level. The China Enterprise Index of top locally listed mainland shares rose 0.12 percent to 12,185.47.
China's key Shanghai Composite Index traded in a narrow range ahead of long holidays starting this week with gains in banks helping to offset losses in pharmaceuticals which saw profit-taking after recent gains.
Gains in large-cap local property developers, led by Li Ka-shing-controlled Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd, underpinned the broader market in Hong Kong with property prices holding up despite transaction volumes remaining low.
Cheung Kong was up 2.1 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd rose 1.7 percent, while Henderson Land Development Co Ltd firmed 1.5 percent.
"With low transaction volumes and seemingly flat prices, the government's attention appears to have shifted from curbing prices to supplying housing for the struggling lower-middle class," said analysts at Samsung Securities in a note.
Analysts at Samsung remain positive on the sector and expect primary market sales to pick up in late September with new launches from Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai.
Utilities, which have advanced in recent sessions on rotation into defensive sectors as well as on hopes of tariff increases, were a tad weaker. Hong Kong Electric Holdings Ltd eased 0.7 percent while CLP Holdings Ltd was down 0.5 percent.
The broader market remained rangebound with traders waiting for the U.S. market to break out of its recent range for further indications on market direction.
SHANGHAI FLAT,
Shares in Shanghai were trading at the low end of their two-month trading range as a pre-holiday paring of positions weighed.
Analysts said the index would continue to trade in a narrow range, with near-term support around the index's 60-day moving average at 2,580.
China will see two major national holidays in the next three weeks, during which the market will be open for a combined seven trading days, with two weeks having either one or two days.
Shares of heavily-weighted large-cap mainland banks recovered some of last week's losses.
Analysts attributed the gains to technical buying after local media reported China's five state-owned banks had all set aside more than 2.5 percent of their total loans to cover potential non-performing loans (NPL).
"Reports that banks may have to raise provision ratios may not have that large an impact on lenders," said Guo Yanling, analyst at Shanghai Securities.
Earlier in September, local media reported that China may order banks to set aside 2.5 percent of their total loans to counter bad debt risks.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) was up 0.8 percent. Bank of Beijing Co Ltd gained 1.1 percent, while Bank of Communications Co Ltd advanced 2.3 percent.
Pharmaceuticals, which have sharply outperformed the broader market in recent months, were among the biggest losers with S&P Pharmaceutical Co Ltd down 6.8 percent, while Hangzhou Tian-Mu-Shan Pharmaceutical Enterprise dropped 8.5 percent. (Editing by Chris Lewis)