香港上诉法院维持穆迪“红旗报告”处罚裁决

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.

香港上诉法院(Court of Appeals)维持了对评级机构穆迪(Moody's)处罚300万美元的裁决，原因是该机构在2011年发布的一份研报中给内地企业标贴红旗警示。

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.

上述裁定做出之际（穆迪在2015年提出上诉）正值香港证监会(SFC)加大对这个金融中心做空者的打击力度。去年8月，香港的市场失当行为审裁处(Market Misconduct Tribunal)认定一名做空者市场行为失当，这是香港监管机构管束市场评论的又一例证。

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，证券及期货事务上诉审裁处(Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal)聚焦于该评级机构在2011年发表的一份报告，该报告用20个所谓“红旗”警示对61家公司打分，涵盖公司治理弱点、商业模式不透明、增长速度以及盈利和财务报表的质量问题。

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.

自该报告发布以来，多家被标红旗最多的企业遇到了麻烦。其中一家企业破产，另一家进入了清盘程序，这有助于穆迪反驳对于该研究不合格的指控。

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.

香港证监会追究此案令投资者感到困惑，因为就标旗警示风险而言，穆迪报告的整体内容似乎是准确的。

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.

穆迪还称，该报告的性质并不在香港证监会的管辖范围内。在周四发表的一份声明中，穆迪谴责了这一裁定。

“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.

穆迪负责政府及公共事务的高级副总裁Donough Foley在一份声明中表示：“穆迪对香港上诉法院的裁决感到失望。穆迪没有作出误导行为，亦不同意证监会有权监管研究报告内容。穆迪正在审议法院的意见，并在考虑其选择。”

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.

香港证监会负责监管穆迪的评级工作，并主张该“红旗”报告属于这一职权范围，还称该报告低质、不专业。香港证监会周四没有回应记者的置评请求。

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，香港市场失当行为审裁处认定，在一份针对中国房地产开发商恒大(Evergrande)的报告中，做空者、香橼研究(Citron Research)的安德鲁?莱夫特(Andrew Left)使用“夸张的言词”，并作出了“虚假、具有误导性且可能令普通投资者感到恐慌”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.

穆迪裁决出炉的同一周，做空者纷纷涌向香港，参加专注对冲基金的SOHN投资会议。会上，浑水研究公司(Muddy Waters)的卡森?布洛克(Carson Block)将目标对准了在香港上市的沙发制造商——敏华控股(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.

敏华控股股价一度下跌15.4%，但在该公司申请停牌前跌幅收窄至10%，股价为每股6.03港元。敏华控股没有给出申请停牌的理由。该公司股价周二收跌8.6%。