April 3 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Friday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

- The amount of loans for margin and stock trading hit 1.5 trillion yuan ($242.06 billion) on April 1, indicating investors' strong intentions to invest money into the stock market, according to Wind Informational Statistics data.

- China's insurance fund industry is facing unprecedented risks and challenges, said Chen Wenhui, vice president of China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

SECURITIES TIMES

- The minimum sum needed by individual investors to open up accounts to trade commodity options in China's derivatives market is set to be 100,000 yuan, the paper reported, citing unidentifiable sources familiar with the matter.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

- China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Public Security said in a conference held in Shenzhen that they would strengthen efforts to crack down on insider trading to protect the interests of market investors.

CHINA DAILY

- Sales revenue growth at brick-and-mortar stores slowed to 8.8 percent in 2014 from 11.4 percent in the previous year, illustrating growing pressure from online retailers, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association said.

- China's capital market authorities have expressed concern over a rising number of listed firms that want to change their names and core operations after the country's anti-corruption campaign affected business.

For Hong Kong and South China newspapers see.....

($1 = 6.1968 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Compiled by Chen Yixin and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Anand Basu)