Financial Secretary John Tsang welcomes Standard & Poor's decision to upgrade Hong Kong's long-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign ratings to "AA+" from "AA", with a "stable" outlook. He said it reflects international recognition of the city's strong economic fundamentals and sound policies.

The credit agency attributed the upgrade to further improvement in the Mainland's credit strengths, the Hong Kong Government's maintenance of healthy fiscal performance - and the city's strong economic and financial attributes.

It expected Hong Kong's flexible economy and sound banking sector to maintain a 5% economic growth trend. It said the city's large net external asset position protects it from liquidity risks from volatile financial flows. A forecast cyclical slowdown of real GDP growth will not affect its long-term prospects, the agency added.

Mr Tsang said the credit qualities enable Hong Kong to benefit from growth and developments in Asia, particularly on the Mainland.

"The upgrade is a manifestation of Hong Kong's economic resilience amid global uncertainty. On the fiscal front, the Government will continue to strengthen Hong Kong's public finances with our usual prudence and discipline," he said.