Chan Maobo: Launching an electronic bond trading platform in the second half of the year

PANews February 25 News, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated in the “Budget 2026” that to optimize the business environment and facilitate internal restructuring of enterprises, he recommends relaxing the stamp duty exemption criteria for asset transfers within groups to expand the scope of eligible related corporate groups. The Hong Kong government will submit a draft amendment to the regulations within the year. The relevant proposals apply to documents signed from today. Regarding enhancing Hong Kong’s function as a major financial hub for enterprises, Paul Chan indicated that a series of optimization measures will be announced mid-year, including additional tax incentives and flexibility for corporate treasury centers and their related companies, as well as the introduction of a pre-approval mechanism. Additionally, since the company registration transfer system took effect last year, Paul Chan said that the Companies Registry has approved 22 cases so far and is processing about 20 applications. The Hong Kong government will strengthen external publicity to attract more companies to settle in Hong Kong.