Hong Kong Welcomes S&P's Rating UpgradeThe government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Friday welcomed an announcement by Standard & Poor's (S&P) to upgrade the credit ratings for Hong Kong.A government spokesman said: "We are pleased to note S&P's recognition of the effectiveness of HK's administrative and economic institutions and the robustness of the economy and the banking system." "S&P also recognizes our long-term growth prospects and the positive impact of the mainland's WTO accession," the spokesman added. S&P's upgrade reflects the effectiveness of Hong Kong's administrative and economic institutions in maintaining its strong financial profile. It holds that the HK's resilient economy has maintained its competitiveness through rapid adjustment in costs and prices, and that the banking system has withstood the impact of the price deflation better than S&P's earlier expectations. S&P believes that the gradual sale of the government's share portfolio has allayed concern about future government interference in financial markets, and that long-term growth prospects have been enhanced by China's impending WTO entry. "We also believe that there is still room for further upgrading of the HK's credit ratings given our robust economic performance and the strong fundamentals," the spokesman said. He added that the HK's strong economic fundamentals were supported by its prudent fiscal policies, huge foreign exchange reserves, sound financial regulatory systems and stable economic development of the mainland. The revised ratings for Hong Kong are: A+ for the long-term foreign currency, A-1 for the short-term foreign currency, AA- for the long-term local currency and A-1+ for the short-term local currency. |
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