Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Hong Kong’s sovereign credit rating on Saturday, citing risks from China’s growing political influence over the financial hub and linkages with mainland’s slowing economy, Reuters reported. The change follows the ratings agency’s cut on the outlook on Chinese government debt to “negative” earlier this month on the back of uncertainty over the mainland’s capacity to implement economic reforms, rising government debt and falling reserves. Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Hong Kong’s long-term debt and issuer ratings to “negative” from “stable” and affirmed the Aa1 senior unsecured rating.
