香港上訴法院維持穆迪“紅旗報告”處罰裁決

The Hong Kong Court of Appeals has upheld a $3m fine for rating agency Moody’s over research it published in 2011 that flagged companies in China.

香港上訴法院(Court of Appeals)維持了對評級機構穆迪(Moody's)處罰300萬美元的裁決，原因是該機構在2011年發佈的一份研報中給內地企業標貼紅旗警示。

The ruling, which Moody’s appealed in 2015, comes as the Securities and Futures Commission steps up its actions against short sellers in the financial hub. A Hong Kong tribunal in August found a short seller culpable of market misconduct in another example of the city’s watchdog pushing back on market commentary.

上述裁定做出之際（穆迪在2015年提出上訴）正值香港證監會(SFC)加大對這個金融中心做空者的打擊力度。去年8月，香港的市場失當行爲審裁處(Market Misconduct Tribunal)認定一名做空者市場行爲失當，這是香港監管機構管束市場評論的又一例證。

In the Moody’s case, the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal focused on a 2011 report by the rating agency that scored 61 companies for 20 so-called “red flags”. The report covered corporate governance weaknesses, opacity of business models, speed of growth and the quality of their earnings and financial statements.

在穆迪案中，證券及期貨事務上訴審裁處(Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal)聚焦於該評級機構在2011年發表的一份報告，該報告用20個所謂“紅旗”警示對61家公司打分，涵蓋公司治理弱點、商業模式不透明、增長速度以及盈利和財務報表的質量問題。

Since the report was published, several of the companies that raised the most flags have experienced problems. One has collapsed and another entered a liquidation process, helping Moody’s rebut the accusation that the research was substandard.

自該報告發布以來，多家被標紅旗最多的企業遇到了麻煩。其中一家企業破產，另一家進入了清盤程序，這有助於穆迪反駁對於該研究不合格的指控。

Investors had been puzzled by the SFC’s pursuit of the case, because the broad thrust of Moody’s report appears to have been accurate, in terms of flagging risk.

香港證監會追究此案令投資者感到困惑，因爲就標旗警示風險而言，穆迪報告的整體內容似乎是準確的。

Moody’s also claimed that the nature of the report did not fall under the SFC’s jurisdiction. In a statement on Thursday it denounced the decision.

穆迪還稱，該報告的性質並不在香港證監會的管轄範圍內。在週四發表的一份聲明中，穆迪譴責了這一裁定。

“Moody’s is disappointed by the Hong Kong Court of Appeal’s decision. Moody’s did not engage in misleading conduct and disagrees that the Securities and Futures Commission should be able to regulate the content of research publications. Moody’s is reviewing the Court’s opinion and is considering its options,” Donough Foley, Moody’s senior vice-president of government and public affairs, said in a statement.

穆迪負責政府及公共事務的高級副總裁Donough Foley在一份聲明中表示：“穆迪對香港上訴法院的裁決感到失望。穆迪沒有作出誤導行爲，亦不同意證監會有權監管研究報告內容。穆迪正在審議法院的意見，並在考慮其選擇。”

SFC regulates Moody’s ratings work and has argued that the “red flag” report was included in that remit. It has also called the report shoddy and unprofessional. The SFC did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

香港證監會負責監管穆迪的評級工作，並主張該“紅旗”報告屬於這一職權範圍，還稱該報告低質、不專業。香港證監會週四沒有迴應記者的置評請求。

In August, Hong Kong’s Market Misconduct Tribunal found that short seller Andrew Left of Citron Research had used “sensationalist language” and made allegations that were “false and misleading and likely to alarm ordinary investors” in a report on Chinese property developer Evergrande.

去年8月，香港市場失當行爲審裁處認定，在一份針對中國房地產開發商恆大(Evergrande)的報告中，做空者、香櫞研究(Citron Research)的安德魯?萊夫特(Andrew Left)使用“誇張的言詞”，並作出了“虛假、具有誤導性且可能令普通投資者感到恐慌”的指控。

The Moody’s ruling came in a week when short sellers descended on Hong Kong to attend the hedge fund-focused Sohn Hong Kong investment conference. At the conference, Carson Block of Muddy Waters took aim at Man Wah Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed sofa maker.

穆迪裁決出爐的同一周，做空者紛紛涌向香港，參加專注對衝基金的SOHN投資會議。會上，渾水研究公司(Muddy Waters)的卡森?布洛克(Carson Block)將目標對準了在香港上市的沙發製造商——敏華控股(Man Wah Holdings)。

Man Wah’s shares fell as much as 15.4 per cent, easing to be down 10 per cent at HK$6.03 a share before the company requested a suspension. The sofa maker did not give a reason for requesting the halt. The company’s shares closed 8.6 per cent lower on Tuesday.

敏華控股股價一度下跌15.4%，但在該公司申請停牌前跌幅收窄至10%，股價爲每股6.03港元。敏華控股沒有給出申請停牌的理由。該公司股價週二收跌8.6%。