Hong Kong Economic Fundamentals Rating Lifted

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 11, 2002

Hong Kong Economic Fundamentals Rating Lifted

Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I), a Japanese credit rating agency, Wednesday upgraded Hong Kong's long term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to "AA-".

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Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I), a Japanese credit rating agency, Wednesday (April 10) upgraded Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating to "AA-".

"We welcome R&I's recognition of our strong economic fundamentals and the effectiveness of our market-based economy in adjusting to the deflationary pressure amid recent stagnation of the world economy as well as Hong Kong's commitment and measures to tackle the structural problems on our public finances," said a government spokesman.

"We are also pleased to note R&I's recognition of Hong Kong's autonomy in fiscal and monetary policies as enshrined in the Basic Law, and its affirmation that the principles of the Basic Law have provided the basis for the current strong rating status," he added.

The positive rating is obviously a stabilizer to the volatile business mood in Hong Kong.

Despite expectations of a warming-up world economy, views on the direction of Hong Kong's business prospects are quite apart.

Main concerns of a steady recovery include the seemingly sluggish consumer demand, the record high unemployment rate and the local government's structural budget deficit.

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