Standard & Poor's: If US sanctions hit Hong Kong's financial industry or directly downgrade Hong Kong

Financial News

Written by: Zhang Weilun

2020-06-02 14:32

Sino-US relations are heating up, and the recent tit-for-tat situation between the two sides has increased. At the same time, with the authorization of the National People's Congress to the Standing Committee, the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law was formulated for Hong Kong, prompting Hong Kong to be revoked by the U.S. government for its special treatment status. Rating agency Standard & Poor's pointed out that if the US sanctions against Hong Kong hit the Hong Kong financial industry and cause economic growth to decline significantly, Hong Kong's rating may be lowered.

"Reuters" quoted Standard & Poor's credit rating analyst Chen Jinrong as saying that the bank's current sovereign credit rating for the Hong Kong government is "AA+", which is in line with some of the "AAA" country ratings, but Hong Kong's credit rating has been dragged by uncertainty .

Chen Jinrong pointed out that the abolition of Hong Kong's special treatment by the United States will not have a major impact on the economy. At present, the value of Hong Kong's exports to the United States only accounts for 0.1% of the total value of Hong Kong's exports. However, if the US sanctions against Hong Kong begin to impact the Hong Kong service industry, especially the financial industry, the impact on the Hong Kong economy will be more severe. In the worst case, or may have a significant impact on the economic growth of Hong Kong, the bank may further lower its assessment of Hong Kong's economy, and is more likely to directly downgrade Hong Kong's rating.

S&P is the only one of the three major credit rating companies in the world that has not downgraded Hong Kong's credit rating.

S&P Standard & Poor's Global Rating and Rating Agency Credit Rating