China cuts stock trading costs to lift confidence

BEIJING - China Securities Regulatory Commission announced Thursday to further cut transaction fees on its stock exchanges in a bid to ease burdens on investors amid sluggish market sentiment.

The regulator said in an online statement that the transaction fees of A shares on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses will be cut by 20 percent starting from Sep.= 1.

China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp. will also lower the registration fee for A-share transactions in the Shanghai bourse by 20 percent, and the trading costs on China's four major futures exchange platforms will drop between 6.25 percent to 50 percent, according to the statement.

The latest announcement marked the third such cuts this year, as China has been taking steps to reform its capital market to boost efficiency.