Bangkok--Sep 21--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has upgraded its National rating of the THB800 million debentures no.1/2004 Series 1 and 2 (“the notes”) issued by Auto Receivables SPV Company Limited (“the issuer”) in August 2004 to ‘A+(tha)’from ‘A-’ (A minus)(tha). The rating upgrade was the result of a significantly better performance compared to Fitch’s base case delinquency assumptions for the portfolio, resulting in a sharp increase in credit enhancement during the amortisation period.
This transaction is a securitisation of Thai auto hire purchase receivables originated by Scandinavian Leasing Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of Swedish Motors Corporation plc. The notes are backed by a pool of auto hire purchase receivables under an assignment of rights to receive cash flows. The transaction has no revolving period and started amortising from closing on a quarterly basis. The Series 1 notes have a fixed amortising schedule with a maturity of 2.5 years, while the Series 2 notes have a pass-through payment structure with a legal maturity of four years.
As of July 2005, the notes had been paid down by THB403.6m (about 50% of the initial amount with an outstanding balance of THB396.4m), while the portfolio backing the notes had an outstanding value of approximately THB605.8m (including cash), representing 35% subordination compared with 20% at closing.
The issuer, a special-purpose company with limited liability established under Thai law, was granted special-purpose vehicle status under the Securitisation Act. The purchased assets’ value was approximately THB1.0 billion as of the cut-off date on 30 June 2004.
A performance report on Auto Receivables SPV Company Limited is available at: www.fitchratings.com and www.fitchratingsasia.com
Contact: Pimolpa Simaroj, Orawan Karoonkornsakul, CFA, Vincent Milton, +662 655 4761/4766/4759.
Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings and where there is demand for such ratings. The best risk within a country is rated ‘AAA’ and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as ‘AAA(tha)’ for National ratings in Thailand. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
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