By Donny Kwok
HONG KONG: Hong Kong property stocks fell on Monday after the government raised stamp duties on property transactions for the first time in three years to rein in soaring real estate prices.
The property sub-index fell 3 percent at the open. Shares of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd were set to open down 5.6 percent, Henderson Land dropped 3 percent, New World Development slid 4.5 percent and Midland Holdings was down 7.2 percent.
The government will raise stamp duties on home purchases to 15 percent, across the board, effective Nov. 5, to dampen a red-hot market which has failed to respond to a raft of measures taken by policymakers in recent months.
(Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Stephen Coates)
Source: Reuters