"No, I don't believe there is such a plan," Tsang told government radio when asked if he foresaw further measures in coming months.

"Of course we have contingency measures for all sorts of situation," he said without elaborating.

The government announced plans on Monday to beef up regulations in the stock and futures markets, and possibly strengthen the chief executive's authority over those exchanges, in a bid to reduce opportunities to manipulate the markets.

The move came after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened heavily in the stock and futures market last month to squeeze out speculators who attacked the Hong Kong dollar and pushed interest rates higher while holding short positions in stocks and futures to benefit from falling share prices.

"I am surethat we have sufficient determination to deal with them," Tsang said. "I hope they will be away for some while." However, speculators were still in the market, which should be prepared for ups and downs given Hong Kong was a globalised economy, he said.

Tsang said concerted international action was needed to combat market manipulation. With such action Hong Kong would not have needed to adopt its own protective measures.

"You must remember, as I said, that the permanent solution does not rest entirely with Hong Kong.

"We believe that there has to be some discipline, universally agreed international discipline, in regulating the flow of funds which are used for speculative purposes of this kind, and that we are advocating this, and so are many other countries in Asia.

"So is the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Somehow we haven't come to a consensus on how to proceed," he said.

The measures proposed by the local government on Monday included stricter rules on short-selling, plus plans tocriminalise unreported short-selling.

Tsang said he hoped to put forward a draft of such legislation to the legislature by the end of this month. The financial secretary said the government hoped to propose by the end of September legislation to empower the chief executive to issue directions to exchanges and clearing houses, if such power was found not to be covered by existing laws.

There was a strong case for the chief executive to possess such power because individual entities such as the exchanges might look at the interest of their members instead of the interest of Hong Kong as a whole, he said.

He said the government, which was used to taking a non-intervention approach, would retreat from the market as soon as the financial crisis was over. "You have my assurance in that."