Bangkok--8 Apr--Moody's Moody's Investors Service says that the negative rating trend for Asia Pacific corporates (ex-Japan) continued during 1Q2008. Highlighting this, 18% of the ratings for rated Asian corporates had negative rating implications against 13% at the end of the 4Q2007. "At the same time, while Asia's cross-border debt markets stayed near shut and its equity markets remained weak, clear signs also emerged of bank liquidity -- a core means for financing and refinancing in the region -- tightening," says Clara Lau, a Moody's Chief Credit Officer. Lau was speaking in conjunction with the release of her "Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) Corporate Credit Report: 1Q2008," which discusses a broad range of themes, including weakening credit profiles, greater refinancing risk, and those sectors that are most exposed. "Refinancing risk for corporates has increased, especially for real estate companies,' Lau says. "In Singapore, REITs proved the most exposed to the tightening, and likewise, rated Chinese property developers also faced greater difficulty with financing as their bank lending environment deteriorated," says Lau. As a matter of fact, the Asian property sector (including developers and REIT) accounted for about a third of the negative rating actions which unfolded in 1Q2008, the report says. Moody's also expects the operating margins of export-oriented corporates- auto, semiconductor and electronics firms to deteriorate, given the weakening economic situation in the US and rising raw material costs that they may not be able to fully pass on. Likewise, margins for domestic orientated entities with heavy fuel costs - such as utilities - are also expected to come under continued pressure. The new Moody's report can be found at www.moodys.com