Ko: If the stamp duty threshold is increased to 6 million Hong Kong dollars, it will greatly affect government revenue.

Recent reports have indicated that the Hong Kong government has no intention of introducing a "cross-border property purchase channel" or relaxing the threshold of the stamp duty of 100 Hong Kong dollars in the upcoming Policy Address. Li Wan Jun from the Research Department of Centaline Property in Hong Kong said that currently, the stamp duty for purchasing properties worth 4 million Hong Kong dollars or less is 100 Hong Kong dollars, which accounts for one-third of property transactions. If the threshold is further raised to properties worth 6 million Hong Kong dollars or less, the government will reduce one-third of the stamp duty revenue, which will greatly impact the government's income. Therefore, she does not recommend further relaxation. Li Wan Jun mentioned that since the Hong Kong government has introduced various measures earlier including the cooling measures, it is believed that time is needed to observe their effectiveness before considering any new policies to support the property market. As for the "cross-border property purchase channel," she explained that as the funds for property purchase must be handled in a "closed-loop" manner, similar to the "Stock Connect," buying properties is different from buying stocks. Once a property is purchased, it may involve rental income, turning it into an open-loop system. Therefore, there are many details to consider, and it may be difficult to implement in the short term.