Guangzhou on Wednesday became the first major Chinese city to announce an easing of mortgage curbs as the government ramps up efforts to revive the crisis-hit property sector and shore up the sputtering economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Mainland Property Index rose as much as 3.3% after the Guangzhou city government's announcement. Like its peers, the company has been hurt by a drop in margins as property sales and the value of the homes themselves plummeted as the economy slowed. BANKS MARGINThe mortgage rate cuts will add to margin pressure on banks. China's benchmark banking sector index fell 1.04% after the Guangzhou mortgage announcement while China's CSI300 index gained 0.02%.

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Persons: Jackson Wang, Wang, I'm, Raymond Cheng, Vivian Xue Organizations: Guangzhou, Wednesday, Hang Seng Mainland, Country Garden, provident, CGS, CIMB Securities, APAC, Fitch, Reuters Locations: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hang Seng, Linyi, China, Hong Kong