HONG KONG: Shares in Hong Kong tumbled more than three percent in the afternoon, with tutoring firms battered by news that China plans to overhaul the private education system to ban them from making profits.

The Hang Seng Index dived 3.13 percent, or 854.84 points, to 26,467.14 soon after the break, with technology companies also hit by the latest crackdown on the sector after mainland authorities ordered Tencent to give up its exclusive music label rights, citing anti-monopoly laws.

Hong Kong stocks open sharply lower

The Shanghai Composite Index sank 2.47 percent, or 87.74 points, to 3,462.66.