Hong Kong Proposes Stamp Duty Exemption Expansion to Boost Business Environment

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, announced in the 2026 Budget that the government plans to expand the criteria for stamp duty exemptions on intra-group asset transfers to improve the business environment and facilitate corporate restructuring. According to PANews, the Hong Kong government will submit a legislative amendment proposal within the year, with the new exemption criteria applicable to documents signed from today onwards. To enhance Hong Kong's role as a major corporate treasury center, Chan stated that a series of optimization measures will be announced mid-year. These measures include additional tax incentives and flexibility for corporate treasury centers and their affiliated companies, as well as the introduction of a pre-approval mechanism. Since the company re-domiciliation regime came into effect last year, the Companies Registry has approved 22 cases and is processing approximately 20 applications. The Hong Kong government plans to intensify external promotion efforts to attract more businesses to establish operations in the city.