China further cuts stocks trading costs to lift confidence

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China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced Thursday that it will further cut stock market transaction fees 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 on Sept. 1.

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

The latest announcement marked the third such cuts this year, following two adjustments in June and July, as China moves to reform its capital market to improve efficiency.

If calculating based on the trading volumes in 2011, the three cuts will save around 15.5 billion yuan (2.46 billion U.S. dollars) in trading costs for investors this year, according to the CSRC.

After hitting a fresh low of 2,103.63 in more than three years on Tuesday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 2,111.18 on Thursday.