Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Limited

The appeal failed, but the Court held that the SFAT was wrong to conclude that the Report itself constituted credit ratings, because the opinions were not "primarily" regarding creditworthiness - a definitional point which Moody's had failed to make in the SFAT. Nevertheless, the Court held that the Report fell within Moody's Type 10 credit rating activities because it amplified or supplemented its ratings. The right of appeal to the court is limited to points of law, so it does not discuss whether the report was produced to a high enough standard. As Webb-site has previouly opined, it was, and attacking Moody's has had a chilling effect on further licensed research of this nature. Have you seen any other red flag reports since 2011?

We look at what the SFAT's ruling and the SFC's action says about the future of Hong Kong as a place in which freedom of debate and negative criticism is becoming increasingly difficult.

A New Year's Eve SFAT ruling reveals an SFC action against Moody's for its 2011 "red flags" report, following the recent launch of MMT action against a short-selling analyst. The SFC risks chilling publication of critical opinion and analysis - something we would hate to stop doing. We will be watching the cases carefully.