HONG KONG If Moody's downgrade of China's sovereign debt outlook was a slap in the face for Beijing, a wave of corporate rating cuts is only adding to the humiliation.
Sluggish demand and high leverage are casting doubt on the creditworthiness of top Chinese companies. "It's clearly a negative trend now," said Clara Lau, Moody's senior vice president for credit policy. "The trend has accelerated since the fourth quarter," she said, adding multinotch downgrades cannot be ruled out.
