China plans to cut stamp duty on stocks by up to 50% to revive confidence

China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index jumped roughly 3% on Monday after the country confirmed a Reuters scoop on slashing stamp duty on stock trading. Reuters exclusively reported that Chinese authorities were planning to cut stamp duty on stock trading by as much as 50% in a further attempt to revitalize the country’s struggling stock market. 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 a debt crisis in the property market deepens. China’s fiscal revenue totalled 20.37 trillion yuan ($3.02 trillion) last year, with 276 billion yuan or 1.35% contributed by stamp duty on securities transactions, official data showed. The finance ministry, in a brief statement on Sunday, said it was reducing the 0.1% duty on stock trades by 50% “in order to invigorate the capital market and boost investor confidence.”