Bangkok--7 Sep--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings has affirmed the National ratings on the following credit card receivables asset-back debentures: Debentures issued by Eternal Credit Card Special Purpose Vehicle Co., Ltd. (ECC) -- Class A-1 at ‘AAA(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in November 2009 -- Class A-2 at ‘AAA(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in November 2011 Debentures issued by Eternal 3 Special Purpose Vehicle Co., Ltd. (ET3) -- Class A-1 at ‘AAA(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in March 2011 -- Class A-2 at ‘AAA(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in March 2013 -- Class B at ‘AA(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in March 2013 -- Class C at ‘A(tha)’ with a legal final maturity in March 2013 The rating affirmations are based on the quality and performance of the collateral, the credit enhancement provided, and the sound legal structure. Fitch monitors three key parameters - yield and excess spread, default rate and monthly payment rate (MPR) - for the credit card transactions. The performance of yield and excess spread as well as the default rate for both ECC and ET3 portfolios has been satisfactory, compared to Fitch’s base case assumptions. While the ECC portfolio’s MPR has been below Fitch’s expectation, it is still higher than Fitch’s ‘AAA(tha)’ stress scenario, and has started to stabilise since December 2006. For the ET3 portfolio, the MPR since August 2006 has been below Fitch’s base case assumption, but this has not been significant and it has started to stabilise since late 2006. Despite a more stabilised trend, ECC portfolio’s three-month average principal payment rate of 13.7% is still close to the early amortisation trigger level of less than 13%. Fitch’s ratings address the timely payment of interest and ultimate repayment of principal on the debentures by the legal final maturity. It should be noted that the ratings do not reflect the likelihood of the early amortisation events, and the level of credit enhancement will not influence the probability of early amortisation. Both transactions are the securitisation of credit card receivables originated by AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Plc or AEONTS, a Thai consumer finance operator currently rated ‘BBB+(tha)’/’F2(tha)’ with a Stable Outlook. The receivables continue to be serviced by AEONTS, while the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC, rated ‘AA/F1+’) acts as a back-up servicer for both transactions. A copy of the performance reports will be available on www.fitchratings.com and www.fitchratingsasia.com Contacts: Napachak Phasukavanich, Orawan Karoonkornsakul, Vincent Milton; Bangkok, Tel: +662 655 4755 Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with sub- or low-investment grade international sovereign 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 sand 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. Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency’s public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch’s code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code of Conduct’ section of this site.