| HK welcomes Moody's upgrading of its foreign currency rating |
HONG KONG, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) welcomed Moody's decision on Wednesday to upgrade Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency rating to "Aa3" from "A1", with "Positive" outlook.
The government of the HKSAR also welcomed Moody's upgrade of Hong Kong's foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling from "A1" to " Aa3", with "Positive" outlook," said a governmental statement.
In its press statement announcing the rating decision, Moody's attributed the upgrade to Hong Kong's strong financial position and large positive international investment position, showed that Hong Kong now has a degree of resilience to any potential shocks emanating from the Chinese mainland.
In addition, Moody's noted that the large foreign assets held by Hong Kong residents could help Hong Kong weather potential economic or financial shocks. Moody's also stated the upgrade was prompted by its belief that the foreign currency bond rating should be in line with local currency bond rating.
Welcoming the news, HKSAR Financial Secretary Henry Tang said the upgrade reflected international recognition of Hong Kong's improved public finances and growth prospects.
Following Moody's upgrade, Hong Kong has now achieved AA-category ratings by all major international credit rating agencies. The latest ratings are also the highest that have ever been assigned to Hong Kong.
"In the past year, we have worked intensively on the credit rating agencies to assure them that Hong Kong is very resilient to Mainland risks. We will continue to maintain close dialogue with the credit rating agencies in order to achieve higher ratings that reflect our strong fundamentals," Tang added. Enditem
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