'Stamp duty cut not enough to attract investors'
A cut in stamp duty won’t be enough to draw investors back to the Hong Kong stock market, financial services representatives said on Wednesday.  The reduction from 0.13 to 0.1 percent was announced in Chief Executive John Lee's latest Policy Address, in which he said a vibrant stock market is vital to maintaining Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre.  Dickie Wong, executive director at Kingston Securities, said while the stamp duty cut will give the market a boost, he believes the effect will be short-lived. "The trading cost in Hong Kong is quite high, so even after the cut, I don't see that the traders and hedge funds will come back to Hong Kong," he said.  Alex Wong, director of asset management at Ample Capital, also said the stamp duty cut isn’t enough to bring back investors.  "I think short-term trading will not increase much because right now the sentiment is quite bad and the low turnover has remained here for quite some time. It's difficult to get people back," he said. However, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chairwoman Laura Cha said she believes the stamp duty cut will reduce transaction costs and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness. She thanked the government for introducing measures to promote the sustainable development of the SAR's financial markets.