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The Government today (May 14) welcomed Moody's affirmation that Hong Kong's strong financial position continues to support Hong Kong's A3 foreign currency rating with a positive outlook and Aa3 domestic currency issuer rating with a stable outlook.
"We are glad to note Moody's recognition of Hong Kong's credit strengths which include: our excellent financial-market infrastructure, the lack of government debt, the existence of substantial fiscal reserves and the building up of a large net international investment position," a Government spokesman said.
"We also note Moody's acknowledgement that Hong Kong will rely on our solid macroeconomic foundation in battling the negative effects of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and other problems," he said.
The spokesman reiterated that the one-off "relief and economic revival" package on SARS should not affect Hong Kong's medium-term fiscal position, nor the strategy for addressing the budget deficit problem and achieving our fiscal targets by 2006-07.
He added that the Government is fully committed to the Linked Exchange Rate system which is the linchpin of Hong Kong's monetary and financial stability and an important factor in Hong Kong's remarkable economic success in the past two decades.
End/Wednesday, May 14, 2003
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