Bangkok--17 Apr--Moody's
Moody's Corporation announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 49% of China Cheng Xin
International Credit Rating Co. Ltd. ("CCXI") from China Cheng Xin Credit Management Co. Ltd. ("CCXCM") and an affiliated entity. Terms and conditions of the transaction are not being disclosed. Moody's will have the ability to increase its ownership over time as permitted by Chinese authorities. The financial impact to Moody's Corporation is not material. The transaction will be subject to regulatory approvals by the Chinese government.
CCXI, established in 1992, was the first nationwide domestic credit rating agency created with the approval of the People's Bank of China. Headquartered in Beijing, with a staff of over 40 professionals, the agency specializes in providing rating opinions on corporate bonds, convertible bonds, financial institutions, structured finance and short term financing paper.
Moody's will provide management expertise, technical support on rating methodologies, and analyst training based on its globally recognized fundamental and structured finance credit rating experience. As a licensed domestic credit rating agency, CCXI will continue to provide domestic ratings reflecting relative credit risk within China, while Moody's will continue to provide globally comparable ratings for cross-border financings. Moody's and CCXI also plan to market joint ratings to global issuers in the local Chinese markets.
"Moody's partnership with CCXI establishes an important platform for Moody's to support credit ratings, research and analysis in China. Moody's will benefit from CCXI's local market knowledge and CCXI will benefit from Moody's experience in global credit ratings and analysis," said Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's Corporation, the parent company of Moody's Investors Service.
"As the only partnership between a domestic Chinese agency and a leading international agency, CCXI will be able to provide a highly differentiated offering to the domestic Chinese capital markets," said Chester V.A. Murray, Executive Vice President for Moody's international business. "This joint venture will allow us to address the growing demand for credit analysis, ratings, research and training in China."
In making the joint announcement, Mr. Mao Zhenhua, Chairman of CCXCM said, "We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Moody's Investors Service, which is one of the world's leading rating agencies". Mr. Mao added, "CCXI has a leading position in the Chinese market, and we believe that the Moody's affiliation will help us to better serve the domestic capital market."
Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, a leading provider of credit ratings, research and analysis covering debt instruments and securities in the global capital markets, Moody's KMV, a leading provider of credit risk processing and credit risk management products for banks and investors in credit-sensitive assets serving the world's largest financial institutions, and Moody's Economy.com, a provider of economic research
and data services. The corporation, which reported revenue of $1.7 billion in 2005, employs approximately 2,900 people worldwide and maintains offices in 22 countries. Further information is available at www.moodys.com .
China Cheng Xin International Credit Rating Co. Ltd. ("CCXI"), established in 1992, was the first nationwide domestic credit rating agency created with the approval of the People's Bank of China. Headquartered in Beijing, CCXI specializes in providing rating opinions on corporate bonds, convertible bonds, financial institutions, structured financings and short- term borrowings.