Cut in stocks stamp duty still possible, says FS
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Monday that he may still consider reducing the levy on stock trading, despite again stressing that he doesn't think it's the answer to increasing liquidity in the stock market.  There have been calls for the Hong Kong authorities to follow the footsteps of their mainland counterparts in cutting the levy.  Speaking a day after he published a blog post dismissing the significance of lower stamp duty, Chan clarified that he wasn't ruling out cutting the tax.  "Relying on one measure to do with stamp duty may not be enough to structurally promote the development of the market in the long run. We need to think wider, think of more options," the minister told a forum. "But we didn't rule out lowering the stamp duty, please don't misunderstand." His latest statement led to a round of applause from those attending the forum. Chan said a task force looking at ways to boost liquidity in the local bourse will look at many options, such as the listing regime and trading mechanism. He stressed that officials will come up with a combination of measures, rather than just one policy.