Hong Kong mulls cutting stamp duty for China homebuyers: Ip

Home sales slumped about 57% by value in July from a year earlier, according to the city’s Land Registry. - Bloomberg

HONG KONG (Bloomberg): 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, according to a top adviser to Hong Kong’s leader. Local property developer shares rallied.

"Mainland professionals have been clamoring for the double stamp duty to be waived for them, even before they acquire the right of abode,” Regina Ip, convenor of the government’s advisory Executive Council, told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday (Aug 9).