Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government welcomed on Friday Moody's decision to upgrade Hong Kong's domestic currency government bond rating outlook from "Stable" to "Positive".

It also welcomed the agency's decision to review its long-term foreign currency bond rating on Hong Kong for possible upgrade, according to a government press release on Friday.

Welcoming the news, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang said the decisions to upgrade the domestic currency government bond rating outlook for Hong Kong from "Stable" to "Positive" and the review for possible upgrade of Hong Kong's foreign currency bond rating reflected the agency's recognition of Hong Kong's strong economic fundamentals and improved public finances and growth prospects.

"We are committed to consolidating Hong Kong's public finances further with continued fiscal discipline. We will also be shortly launching a public consultation on the introduction of a goods and services tax in Hong Kong." Tang said.

Moody's last rating action on Hong Kong was in October, 2003, when it raised Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency rating by two notches from "A3" to "A1", and with a stable outlook. The domestic currency government bond rating was Aa3, also with a stable outlook.

Source: Xinhua