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.

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.

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.