China plans to cut stamp duty on stock trading by up to 50% to revive sentiment-sources

HONG KONG/BEIJING  – Chinese authorities are planning to cut the stamp duty on domestic stock trading by as much as 50 percent, three people with knowledge with the matter said, in a further attempt to revitalize the country’s struggling stock market.

Chinese regulators including the Ministry of Finance, under the guidance of the State Council, submitted a draft proposal to the cabinet earlier this month, said two of the people, adding a decision could be made and announced as soon as Friday.

The proposal to reduce the current 0.1 percent stamp duty on securities trading suggested a cut of either 20 percent or 50 percent, which would be the first such cut since 2008, the two people said.

The quantum of the cut, which has not been reported before, is likely to be set at 50 percent, they said.

All the sources declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. The Ministry of Finance and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) did not immediately respond either.

The proposed cut comes after China’s leaders vowed in late July to reinvigorate the world’s second-largest stock market, which has been reeling as the country’s economic recovery flags and woes in the property market deepen.

The country’s bluechip CSI300 Index has dropped to nine-month lows, and is down 11 percent from an April peak as hopes of a post-COVID economic recovery and corporate earnings boom fizzled out. By comparison, MSCI’s global stock index is up 11 percent so far this year.

Sluggish growth

The world’s second-largest economy grew at a sluggish pace in the second quarter amid weak demand both at home and abroad, prompting analysts to downgrade their growth forecasts for the year in the absence of major policy support measures.

Against the backdrop of growing headwinds, Beijing has taken a series of measures to support markets, including a smaller-than-expected cut in a key lending benchmark and other steps earlier in the week.

The modest stimulus has so far failed to satisfy investors and revive a slowing economy, as they demand stronger policy packages including massive government spending.

In the latest such move, China’s central bank has asked some domestic banks to scale back their outward investments through the Bond Connect scheme, Reuters reported on earlier on Friday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

China’s securities regulator on Aug. 18 unveiled a package of proposals including supporting share buybacks and encouraging long-term investment to support the country’s $11 trillion stock market.

The CSRC also said stabilizing the stock market was a priority. “Without a relatively stable market environment, there’s no basis for reviving the market and lifting sentiment.”

Any reduction or exemption of stamp duties including the one on stock trading can be decided by the State Council, based on the needs of the country’s economic and social development, according to China’s Stamp Duty Law which came into effect in July 2022.

“A cut in stamp duty (on stock trading) can help decrease investment cost and boost trading activity,” analysts at broker Topsperity Securities said in a note. “Compared with previous policy measures, a cut in stamp duty may have a stronger effect in repairing investor confidence. In the longer term, the impact might be limited.”

China’s fiscal revenue totaled 20.37 trillion yuan ($3.02 trillion) last year, with 276 billion yuan or 1.35 percent contributed by stamp duty on securities transactions, official data showed.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg first reported Chinese authorities were considering cutting the stamp duty on stock trades.