Hong Kong will raise the rate of stamp duty on transactions of luxury properties to avoid property bubble, Hong Kong's top financial official said Wednesday.

"We will increase the transaction cost of property speculation with appropriate tax measures so as to reduce the risk of creating a property bubble," said John Tsang, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

"I propose that with effect from April 1 this year the rate of stamp duty on transactions of properties valued more than 20 million HK dollars be increased from 3.75 percent to 4.25 percent, and buyers will no longer be allowed to defer payment of stamp duty on such transactions," he said when delivering his annual budget speech at the Legislative Council.

In parallel, the Government will closely monitor the trading of properties valued at or below 20 million HK dollars, he said.

"If there is excessive speculation in the trading of these properties, we will consider extending the measures to these transactions," said the financial secretary.