HONG KONG (Standard&Poor's) July 18, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today that it had affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. (BOCHK). The outlook on the long-term counterparty credit rating is stable. BOCHK enjoys a strong market position in Hong Kong, good liquidity, and satisfactory capitalization. Its operating profitability, defined as profit before provisions to average assets, is adequate. However, the bank's asset quality has been, and remains, below the domestic average because of its high level of nonperforming loans (NPLs) against total loans. Consequently, the bank's after-tax profitability was adversely affected (on a proforma basis) in both 2000 and 2001. At the end of 2001, BOCHK had an
