These are the leading stories in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese newspapers and websites on Monday. The South China Morning Post has not verified these stories. HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver and his wife, Amanda Henricks, were sued by the Hong Kong government’s Rating and Valuation Department for not paying HK$38,045.80 in rates during 2013 and 2014 for their Mid-Levels property. (Ming Pao) After the Monetary Authority announced a further tightening of mortgage policy on Friday to cool the property market, property transaction volume was down at the weekend with only nine transactions, down 55 per cent from the 20 transactions in the weekend before the Lunar New Year. However, transaction prices did not go down. (Hong Kong Economic Journal) After the People’s Bank of China announced an interest rate cut on Saturday, bankers and brokers predicted one or two more rate cuts this year. They said that would benefit stocks in mainland banks, insurance, brokerages and property. (Hong Kong Economic Times) Fashion retail chain Uniqlo plans to add 100 new stores in China. The company’s chief financial officer said the depreciation of the yen had see the cost of imported material rise but foreign exchange hedging had mitigated the risk. (Hong Kong Economic Journal) Magnum, which has only been listed for a year, was said to be planning to contact buyers to sell its listing status to allow a mainland company to achieve a back-door listing. (Singtao Daily) Xinhua Insurance’s plan to get Alibaba’s finance arm Ant on board as a strategic investor has fallen apart. The company, which had been suspended from trading for a month and half, said in a stock exchange announcement on Sunday that it had terminated its plan to introduce a strategic investor because agreement could not be reached with potential investors. (Caixin) 3-D printing has been given a policy push, with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology releasing a plan on Saturday to advance the industry “to international level” by next year with annual revenue growth of more than 30 per cent. (Shanghai Securities News)
