Bangkok--28 Feb--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is converting its issuer and issue ratings on Australia, Cambodia, India, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan to "unsolicited."
On May 24, 2011, we will withdraw all our issue ratings on the debt of Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.
This decision does not change Standard & Poor's view of the creditworthiness of these governments; the ratings themselves remain unchanged.
This conversion follows previously announced conversions of Standard & Poor's issuer and issue credit ratings on certain sovereign issuers in Europe and on the United States.
New European Union regulations require non-EU ratings, where relevant, to be labeled as unsolicited, in order for them to be considered endorsable into the EU for regulatory purposes.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has converted its issuer credit ratings on the following governments to "unsolicited":
Commonwealth of Australia (AAA/Stable/A-1+)
Kingdom of Cambodia (B+/Stable/B)
Republic of India (BBB-/Stable/A-3)
Japan (AA-/Stable/A-1+)
Republic of Singapore (AAA/Stable/A-1+)
Taiwan (Republic of China; AA-/Stable/A-1+)
These conversions follow previously announced conversions of the ratings on seven sovereigns in Europe. These actions, in turn, follow new European Union regulations on credit ratings (Article 10(5) of EU Regulation 1060/2009), which address matters relating to the disclosure and presentation of credit ratings, requiring, among other things, that unsolicited credit ratings be identified as such.
We are converting our issuer credit ratings on the six governments to "unsolicited," as we do not have rating agreements with these governments. Nevertheless, Standard & Poor's will continue to rate these governments and classify the ratings as unsolicited, as we believe that we have access to sufficient public information of reliable quality to support our analysis and ongoing surveillance, and because we believe there is significant market interest in these government ratings.
Standard & Poor's has also converted its issue ratings on the debt of Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan to "unsolicited" and intends to withdraw these ratings on May 24, 2011. Standard & Poor's does not rate debt issued by Australia, Cambodia, and India.
This decision does not change Standard & Poor's view of the creditworthiness of the above sovereigns; the ratings themselves remain unchanged.
This is part of a series of announcements resulting from the adoption of EU Regulation 1060/2009 and our approach to treating certain sovereign ratings as "unsolicited."
Standard & Poor's analysis of these sovereigns may be based solely on publicly available information and may involve the participation of government officials. Standard & Poor's has used information from sources believed to be reliable based on standards established in our Credit Ratings Information and Data Policy, but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information used.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
Ratings On The U.S. Government Converted To Unsolicited Ratings, published Feb. 24, 2011
Ratings On Seven European Sovereigns And The European Central Bank Converted To Unsolicited Ratings, published Feb. 17, 2011
Request for Comment: Sovereign Government Rating Methodology And Assumptions, published Nov. 26, 2010
Sovereign Credit Ratings: A Primer, published May 29, 2008
This unsolicited rating(s) was initiated by Standard & Poor's. It may be based solely on publicly available information and may or may not involve the participation of the issuer. Standard & Poor's has used information from sources believed to be reliable based on standards established in our Credit Ratings Information and Data Policy but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information used.
Standard & Poor's, a part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings. With offices in 23 countries, Standard & Poor's is an important part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for 150 years in providing investors with information and independent benchmarks for their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.
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