The Blubber

China has taken steps to boost investor confidence in its economy, including cutting a tax on stock trading for the first time since 2008. This move comes as foreign investors have been selling off Chinese stocks due to concerns about the country's economic prospects.

The stamp duty on stock trades, which was at 0.1%, has been halved, effective immediately. This reduction is aimed at revitalizing the capital market and restoring investor confidence, according to the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation.

In addition to the tax cut, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced several measures to boost investor confidence in the stock market. These measures include reducing the collateral that stock traders must hold with their brokers, slowing down the pace of initial public offerings (IPOs), and imposing restrictions on major shareholders of listed companies to limit the amount and frequency of share sales on the stock market.

Despite these measures, Chinese stock markets remain volatile. The markets had seen a significant decline recently due to concerns about the country's economic slowdown and the ongoing real estate crisis. Over the course of three weeks, foreign investors sold a net amount of 78 billion yuan (about $11 billion) worth of Chinese stocks through Hong Kong's Stock Connect trading scheme.