Hong Kong’s corporate governance ranking in Asia tumbled to the lowest level in decades, falling behind those of Japan and Singapore, amid concerns about the deterioration of minority shareholder rights and the independence of the judiciary in the city, according to a research report.

The financial hub dropped to sixth place this year from second, according to the Asian Corporate Governance Association’s CG Watch rankings. It’s the first time Hong Kong dropped out of the top three spots in the rankings since they began in 2003, according to the report, which was released with CLSA Wednesday.