Bangkok--21 Dec--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited has today affirmed the National fund ratings of TMB Treasury Money Fund at 'AAA(tha)'/'V1+(tha)'. The ratings reflect the fund's highest standards for credit quality, its conservative investment policies and the safety of the principal relative to other bond funds in Thailand in terms of portfolio assets, diversification, investment management and operational capabilities. The objective of TMB Treasury Money Fund is to provide stable returns consistent with the preservation of capital and maintain a high standard of liquidity by investing exclusively in high-quality money market instruments. The fund's investment policy is to maintain at least 85% of its net asset value (NAV) in treasury bills, government bonds, Bank of Thailand (BoT) bonds and other debt instruments guaranteed by the government or the BoT. The remainder is invested in bank deposits for liquidity support purposes. The fund cannot invest in any corporate debt instruments. The fund maintains a weighted average maturity (WAM) of a maximum of 60 days, and only invests in instruments that have a maximum remaining maturity of 92 days. Since Fitch started to rate this fund in November 2005, more than 90% of the fund's total NAV has been invested in 'AAA(tha)'-rated assets, the remainder being in assets rated 'A(tha)' or 'F1(tha)' and above. Liquidity has been managed through a ladder strategy and a WAM maintained between 45 to 50 days. The risk of high redemption from large investors has been mitigated by the fund's high liquidity and its close relationship and active communication with investors to better forecast cash outflows and redemption requirements. Additionally, good compliance, monitoring procedures and a prudent investment decision-making process are also in place to ensure the fund satisfies required investment practices. As at 14 December 2007, the fund had THB11.50 billion of assets under management ; 83.8% of the portfolio was invested in Thai Treasury bills, 10.6% in BoT's short-term bonds, 4.5% in bank savings with counterparties rated 'A(tha)' or higher, and the remainder in other assets such as accrued interest, receivable and payable from sales and purchases of investment. The fund's WAM was 42.8 days. The largest and top ten unit holders accounted for 3.1% and 16.3% of portfolio assets respectively. TMB Asset Management Limited was founded in October 1996 as a local asset management company. In December 2007, it ranked fifth in the Thai mutual fund market with THB134.3bn of assets under management, 78% of which were fixed income funds. The company's largest shareholder is the Thai Military Bank, which owns 56%. Fitch's benchmark guidelines for 'AAA(tha)' and 'AA(tha)' rated money market funds require that the portfolios cannot hold any securities below "Tier 1". Tier 1 securities consist of those rated 'A(tha)' or 'F1(tha)' and above, or those having ratings equivalent to Fitch's rating of 'A(tha)' or 'F1(tha)' and above. The 'V1+(tha)' rating is assigned only to money market funds that should not experience loss of principal value even in adverse interest rate environments. Contacts: Napachak Phasukavanich, Bangkok, +662 655 4758; Lertchai Kochareonrattanakul, Bangkok, +662 655 4760; Vincent Milton, Bangkok, +662 655 4759.