Global Stock Markets

India launched a limited tax amnesty scheme allowing small taxpayers to report undisclosed foreign assets and income by December 31, 2026. The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers–Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), initially outlined in the 2026–27 Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, opened for online filings on August 16. The mechanism provides a structured route to bring overseas holdings into the tax net while offering immunity from further penalties and prosecution under the Black Money Act. For taxpayers with undisclosed foreign income or assets up to Rs10m, the scheme levies a 30% tax alongside an equal penalty amount, creating a 60% effective rate. A separate track covers specified foreign assets worth up to Rs50m—such as holdings acquired while non-resident or from previously taxed income that were omitted from return schedules—which can be regularized for a flat fee of Rs100,000. The fair market value for all declared assets is computed as of March 31, 2026. The initiative targets students, young professionals, technology sector employees, and non-resident Indians, explicitly excluding proceeds tied to ongoing money laundering proceedings or completed Black Money Act assessments.

China's state-backed funds have exited Kweichow Moutai, according to scmp.com, compounding pressures on the country's largest baijiu distiller as its stock remains down more than 40 per cent from a peak five years ago. Central Huijin Investment and China Securities Finance disappeared from the liquor maker's top 10 shareholders in the second quarter. The unwinding follows a 1.95 per cent year-on-year drop in interim profits, marking the first decline in the distiller's interim results since its 2001 Shanghai listing. Central Huijin held 10.4 million shares at the end of the first quarter as the fifth largest shareholder, while China Securities Finance held 4.03 million shares as the 10th largest. The state-backed entities, known as the national team, did not drop out due to dilution from other investors, as a 3.5 million share stake sufficed for a top-10 spot during the April-to-June period. The departure reflects mounting caution across the baijiu industry amid a post-Covid consumption slump driven by an anti-corruption campaign, a weak labor market, and shifting preferences among younger consumers.

According to scmp.com, UBS warns that Hong Kong's property market recovery faces four headwinds that could flatten prices and rents. Mark Leung, a UBS Greater China property research analyst, notes that the market has not fully priced in disruptions from artificial intelligence, slower population inflows, integration with the Greater Bay Area, and new housing supply in the Northern Metropolis. In its base case, the Swiss bank expects home prices to remain broadly flat through the second half of the year and into 2027, with rental growth slowing from 2028 onward. Secondary home prices previously tumbled 28.4 per cent from their September 2021 peak to a trough in March of last year, before rebounding 13.4 per cent from that low. Meanwhile, government data shows that residential rents have continued setting new highs for eight consecutive months through June.