A woman sits in front of Exchange Square (left) which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong on April 27, 2022.
(DALE DE LA REY / AFP)
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government welcomed on Wednesday the passage of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2022 by the Legislative Council.
The government said in a statement that the amended ordinance gives effect to the proposed exemption of stamp duty payable for certain transactions relating to dual-counter stock made by market makers.
The bill was one of the new initiatives Chief Executive John Lee Ka-Chiu announced in his maiden Policy Address on Oct 19 to boost Hong Kong's status as an international finance center
"The amended Ordinance is an important step to promote the issuance and trading of Renminbi (RMB) securities,” a government spokesman was quoted as saying in the statement.
The bill was one of the new initiatives Chief Executive John Lee Ka-Chiu announced in his maiden Policy Address on Oct 19 to boost Hong Kong's status as an international finance center.
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The stamp duty exemption is meant to create favourable conditions for market makers to engage in market making and liquidity providing activities with lower transaction costs, promoting the trading of RMB stocks.
This will enhance the use of RMB in Hong Kong for investment purposes and contribute to the RMB internationalization process.
“It supports the upcoming launch of the Dual Counter Market Making Programme, which promotes the price efficiency and liquidity of the RMB counters of Hong Kong stocks,” the spokesman said.
“We will continue to further the work to consolidate Hong Kong's status as the world's offshore RMB hub, and assist the internationalization of RMB," he added.
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The amended ordinance will come into effect on Jan 27. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited plans to formally launch the Dual Counter Market Making Programme in the first half of 2023 once the implementation details are finalized.