Bangkok--4 Mar--Moody's Moody's Investors Service sees a quiet start for the derivatives market in Asia this year, while during 2007, after a promising start, activity was significantly impacted by the US sub-prime crisis. "Uncertainty in global market conditions makes it difficult to predict activity in the coming months, but repackaging and balance sheet transactions are the most likely," says Dominique Gribot-Carroz and Elaine Ng, both Assistant Vice Presidents at Moody's. Gribot-Carroz, who heads Moody's business development activities for structured finance in Asia, and Ng, an analyst with Moody's structured finance group, are the authors of a just-released report which reviews the region's derivatives market in 2007 and looks at the prospects for 2008. "For the longer term, more generally and subject to investor appetite, we believe that Asian regional derivatives have a high potential for growth and innovation in coming years," says Gribot-Carroz. "In terms of growth drivers, by end-2008, most Asian countries will have begun the implementation of the standardized approach under Basel II and this development may fuel the momentum for risk management deals in either synthetic or cash forms," says Gribot-Carroz. "As in 2006 and 2007, we expect an increasing concentration of Asia credits." "Looking back at 2007, the market in the first months of 2007 was dominated by single-tranche synthetic arbitrage structures -- mostly referenced to corporate portfolios -- and they included Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance (CPPI) deals, which also closed," says Ng. "However, activity slowed from Q3 with the US sub-prime crisis, and only a few transactions closed and some others were put on hold," says Ng, adding, "While some participants were still active in repackaging transactions, activity on bespoke CDO dried up by the end of the year." The report -- entitled Regional Derivatives in Asia: Will 2008 Mirror 2007? -- can be found at www.moody.com. It is part of a series on Asian Structured Finance -- 2007 Year in Review and 2008 Outlook. The series is divided into 6 reports: - Asian Structured Finance: Will the Year of the Rat be More Favorable for Cross-Border Markets? - Structured Finance in South Korea: Growth Driven by CDO - Structured Finance in India: Growth Continues - Structured Finance in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong: Low Activity in 2007, Progressive Pickup Expected in 2008 - Structured Finance in Southeast Asia: Environment Cautious, But Growth Seen in Malaysian Domestic Market - Regional Derivatives in Asia: Will 2008 Mirror 2007? NOTE TO JOURNALISTS ONLY: For a copy of these reports, please contact EMEA Press Information in London +44-20-7772-5456; New York Press Information +1-212-553-0376; Juan Pablo Soriano in Madrid +34-91-310-1454; Alex Cataldo in Milan +39-02-914-81-100; Eric de Bodard in Paris +331-5330-1076; Detlef Scholz in Frankfurt +49-69-707-30-700; Mardig Haladjian in Limassol +357-25-586-586; Alex Sazhin in Moscow +7495-641-1881; Petr Vins in Prague +4202 2422 2929; Tokyo Press Information +813-5408-4110; Hilary Parkes in Toronto +1-416-214-1635; Hong Kong Press Information +852-2916-1150; Sydney Press Information +612 9270 8102; Luiz Tess in Sใo Paulo +5511-3043-7300; Alberto Jones Tamayo in Mexico City +5255-1253-5700; Daniel R๚as in Buenos Aires +54 11-4816-2332 ext. 105; Craig Jamieson in Johannesburg +27-11-217-5470; Jehad el-Nakla in Dubai +971 4 365 0284; or visit our web site at www.moodys.com Hong Kong Dominique Gribot-Carroz Asst Vice President - Analyst Structured Finance Group Moody's Asia Pacific Ltd. JOURNALISTS: (852) 2916-1150 SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077 Hong Kong Elaine Ng Asst Vice President - Analyst Structured Finance Group Moody's Asia Pacific Ltd. JOURNALISTS: (852) 2916-1150 SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077 Hong Kong Myrna Fajardo VP - Senior Credit Officer Structured Finance Group Moody's Asia Pacific Ltd. JOURNALISTS: (852) 2916-1150 SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077