Hong Kong slams Moody’s for smearing city with credit downgrade

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki slammed ratings agency Moody's on Thursday for smearing Hong Kong with its negative rating outlook on the city’s economy.

His comments came a day after Moody's downgraded the outlook on Hong Kong's credit rating from stable to negative, following a similar change for China. Moody's said the "principal driver" of Hong Kong's negative rating outlook was the "tight linkage between the credit profiles" of the finance hub and China.

Speaking on a radio program this morning, the top government official said Moody's credit downgrade of Hong Kong is unjust, calling it an act to defame the city. He believes the agency, led by the United States, is attempting to undermine mainland China's development through Hong Kong. 

Chan also questioned the reason for Moody's credit downgrade of the city, saying the agency should also downgrade the rating of the world as many other countries have close economic ties with China.

Meanwhile, he disagreed that multinational corporations have lost confidence in Hong Kong, citing the government's efforts in attracting 30 multinational companies to set up shop in Hong Kong, while receiving over 180,000 talent applications, which reflects Hong Kong's attractiveness.

Separately, when asked to comment on whether the move to hand out thank-you cards for voters in the district council polls would be seen as a resort to pressure civil servants into voting, Chan said people should not be misled by rumors, adding that the cards were only a souvenir for voters.

He said it is the responsibility of civil servants to vote and support the government, yet authorities have no monitoring system and will not punish civil servants who do not cast their vote.