CANDIDATES in the stock exchange council election have lashed out at reported Government plans to maintain stamp duty levels unless the exchange scraps the minimum commission rate.
The end of the minimum rate would lead to negotiated commissions and a probable price war among brokers and exchange chairman Charles Lee Yeh-kwong has said the issue would be a major challenge for the council.
Standard Capital Brokerage director Tse Ming-kwong it would be unfair to small brokers who with weaker financial backing are more likely to lose out in a price war.
'Our minimum commission is already very competitive [compared with other markets],' said Mr Tse, who is in constituency C which consists of small brokers.
'So small brokers will be 100 per cent handicapped in their ability to compete.' Another candidate, New China Hong Kong Securities director William Kwong Wai-tim, said he could see no reason why stamp duty should be linked to commission.
The exchange, committed to the abolition of stamp duty in line with international trend, has pressed the Government for years to reduce stamp duty which it says increases the cost of trading and makes Hong Kong less competitive.
