(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong unveiled its first stamp-duty increase on stock trades since 1993, sparking a broad selloff in the $7.6 trillion market and sending shares of the city’s exchange to their biggest plunge in more than five years.
The plan for a trading-tax hike to 0.13% from 0.10% is part of a raft of new measures announced in Hong Kong’s budget on Wednesday that included increased spending to help residents weather the pandemic. Even as the city’s economy has plunged over the past year, stock prices and trading have surged amid a global market boom.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 3% lower, led by a 8.8% tumble in Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. That’s even after the bourse operator reported record annual earnings on Wednesday. Mainland-based funds sold a record $2.6 billion worth of Hong Kong stocks through exchange links with Shenzhen and Shanghai. That comes after 38 days of net purchases from north of the border. Read more…..
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