Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2014
Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2015
- The Amendment Ordinance was gazetted on 13 February
2015 to implement the stamp duty waiver for the
transfer of shares or units of all exchange traded
funds (“ETFs”) as proposed in the 2014-15 Budget.
Starting from 13 February 2015, stamp duty is waived
for the transfer of shares or units of all ETFs.
-
The ETF sector is one of the key components of the
asset management industry worldwide. It has been
growing rapidly. In Hong Kong, ETFs are open-ended
collective investment schemes the shares or units of
which are listed or traded on the Stock Exchange of
Hong Kong.
-
With further integration of the financial markets in
Asia, the Government has since 2010 extended the
stamp duty remission to ETFs with their registers of
holders maintained in Hong Kong that track indices
comprising not more than 40 per cent in Hong Kong
stocks as an initiative to encourage the listing of
ETFs tracking regional indices in Hong Kong.
-
The Government proposed in the 2014-15 Budget to
waive the stamp duty for the transfer of all ETF
shares or units, so that the transaction cost of
ETFs with their registers of holders maintained in
Hong Kong and with more than 40 per cent of Hong
Kong stocks in their portfolios can be reduced as
well to help promote the development, management and
trading of ETFs in Hong Kong. This will be conducive
to fostering Hong Kong’s position as an asset
management centre and the development of our
financial services sector as a whole, and provide
new business opportunities for market practitioners
and a greater range of products for investors.
Other relevant information-