Bangkok--13 Jun--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings will host a teleconference later today at 3:30PM Singapore/2:30PM Vietnam to discuss the agency's outlook on the Vietnamese economy and its banking sector. The teleconference will be hosted by James McCormack, Head of Asia Pacific Sovereigns and Sabine Bauer, Director of Financial Institutions. Mr. McCormack will touch on the country's economic outlook amid its inflation woes and lagging government policies, while Ms. Bauer will provide a brief overview of the developments in the domestic banking system, in particular, the challenges banks are likely to face as a result of higher interest rates and tighter liquidity. Peter Tebbutt, Senior Director, Financial Institutions will also be available on the call. This call coincides with the release of the agency's latest Credit Analysis on Vietnam and "Vietnamese Banks: A Homemade Liquidity Squeeze", both of which are available on the subscription-based www.fitchresearch.com. The call is expected to run approximately 15 minutes, followed by a short Q&A session for interested participants. To register for this event, please contact Valerie Tan at +65 6796 7209/ [email protected]. Instructions: Participants should dial the listed toll free telephone access number at least 5 minutes before start time. When prompted by the Operator, the confirmation code is 'Fitch Ratings'. Participants will be placed in listen-only mode with music until the moderator or speaker starts the conference. All callers are advised to dial the toll free lines from an IDD-enabled fixed land line. Following are the details of the teleconference: -- Date: Friday, 13th June 2008 -- Time: 3:30pm SG/2:30PM Vietnam -- Australia Toll Free: 1800 097 137 -- New Zealand Toll Free: 0800 603 458 -- Japan Toll Free: 0044 2206 2130 -- South Korea: 00798 612 1030 -- China North (CNC): 10800 6110 114 -- China South (CT): 10800 3610 134 -- Hong Kong Toll Free: 800 962 681 -- Singapore Toll Free: 800 6162 212 -- Malaysia Toll Free: 1800 181 225 -- Indonesia Toll Free: 00180 3061 2084 -- Philippines Toll Free: 1800 1612 0024 -- Thailand Toll Free: 001800 612 1073 -- India Toll Free: 000 800 100 6486 -- UK Toll Free: 0808 234 8304 -- US Toll Free: 1866 888 7010 -- Alternate International: +61 2 8113 1400 Replay: An archived replay of the teleconference will be available from the 'Events Calendar' on the Fitch Ratings Asia website, www.fitchratingsasia.com, from 16 June 2008. Contacts: Sabine Bauer, Hong Kong, +852 2263 9942/ [email protected]; James McCormack, Hong Kong, +852 2263 9925/ [email protected]; Peter Tebbutt, Hong Kong, +852 2263 9966/ [email protected]. Media Relations: Shivani Sundralingam, Singapore, Tel: + 65 6796 7215. 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.