Wednesday newspaper round-up: Chinese GDP, Google, HSBC

Economic growth in China slowed down to just 7% in the first quarter, representing the lowest pace of expansion in six years, according to the Financial Times. This compared with 7.3% growth in the fourth quarter.

Europe is set to file formal charges against Google for violating antitrust laws, The Wall Street Journal reports. The case is likely to become the "biggest competition battle here since the European Union’s pursuit of Microsoft Corp. a decade ago", the paper said.

HSBC is looking to "refresh" its board after the recent scandal regarding tax evasion at its Swiss arm, reports the Financial Times. The bank has reportedly hired headhunters to find replacements for as many as give longstanding non-executive directors in the next couple of years.

Greek foreign minister Euclid Tsakalotos has expressed confidence that Athens will be able to reach a deal with creditors before the 24 April deadline to unlock €7.2bn of financial aid, The Guardian reports.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he will bring the company's free internet project, Internet.org, to Europe, reports The Telegraph.

GlobalData's head of oil and gas research and consulting has slammed claims by UK Oil & Gas Investments that the Horse Hill project near Gatwick contains 100bn barrels of oil, saying that estimates were "wildly optimistic" and "misleading", The Telegraph said.

The former chief financial officer of Supergroup who was forced to leave after being declared bankrupt has had the ruling annulled after he paid back money to the taxman, The Times writes.

Next chief executive Lord Wolfson has said he will lift shopfloor wages by at least 5%, saying he is willing to forgo his bonus if there is a shortfall in funding, according to The Guardian.