HONG KONG : Hong Kong may consider waiving extra stamp duty on homes for mainland Chinese buyers as a way to shore up the economy and reverse a brain drain, Regina Ip, convenor of the government's advisory Executive Council told Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Shares of Hong Kong property developers rose after the comment, with New World Development Co jumping 5.5 per cent and Sun Hung Kai Properties up 4.1 per cent. CK Asset Holdings and Henderson Land Development both gained over 3 per cent. "It is all a raft of measures under consideration and this is certainly something that the government could consider," Ip said on Bloomberg TV.
Chinese investments were one of drivers of higher property prices in Hong Kong before 2019. Hong Kong earlier this year was ranked by survey company Demographia as the world's most unaffordable housing market for the 12th consecutive year. Hong Kong private home prices fell at a faster pace in June and dropped to the lowest since December 2020, as homebuyers stayed on the sidelines due to an uncertain outlook and rising interest rates.