(Yicai) April 15 -- Macao is working to cancel stamp duties on home purchases to boost the property market, following the footsteps of Hong Kong, China's other special administrative region.

Macao is planning to waive the 10 percent stamp duty for the purchase of a third property, set the property transfer stamp duty to 1 percent, remove offshore investors' additional 10 percent stamp duty on property purchases, and increase the loan ratio for offshore investors to 70 percent from 60 percent of the home price, according to a bill drafted on April 12 that is waiting for approval from the Legislative Assembly.

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced on Feb. 28 that all demand-side management measures for residential property will be lifted, including special stamp duty, buyer's stamp duty, and new residential stamp duty.

Macao introduced stamp duties in 2010 to reduce the risks of a real estate bubble. Those regulations included property transfer stamp duties of 1 percent, 2 percent, and 3 percent on the purchase of houses priced below MOP2 million (USD247,600), between MOP2 million and MOP4 million, and above MOP4 million, respectively, for offshore home buyers.

Macao's property market has been sluggish recently. Last year, only 2,879 apartments were sold in the SAR, down 73 percent from 2018. Prices also plunged nearly 14 percent to MOP93,500 (USD11,590) per square meter in the period.

But according to professionals, Macao's new regulations may not boost the real estate industry as effectively as those in Hong Kong.

Easing restrictions will attract Chinese mainland talents and funds to Macao, said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Planning Institute's residential policy research center. However, Macao does not have the same advantages in terms of industry diversification as Hong Kong, so the results of the new regulations may not be as good, he added.

In addition, there are strong expectations that Chinese first-tier cities will also lift purchase restrictions, eliminating Macao's advantage, Li noted.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione