Bangkok--23 Sep--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings has today affirmed the National Fund Credit Rating of AYF Cash Management Fund (AYFCASH or “the fund”) at ‘AAA(tha)’, and its National Fund Volatility Rating at ‘V1(tha)’. The fund has been able to maintain the portfolio quality as determined in its investment policies. The credit quality of the fund has been strong due to its high proportion of investment in ‘AAA(tha)’ assets. Meanwhile, the market risk of the portfolio has remained low because the majority of the assets are short-term liquid assets with a weighted average maturity (WAM) of below 40 days. At end-August 2008, the fund held 99.9% of its NAV in ‘AAA(tha)’ assets, and the portfolio’s WAM was 34 days. The top-five largest unit holders accounted for approximately 17% of the fund’s NAV. Fitch also notes that operational controls of AYF are adequate to fulfill the standards of required investment practices. AYFCASH is an open-ended, short-term fixed-income fund, investing mainly in short-term government papers, bank deposits and highly rated short-term fixed-income instruments. Under investment policies, the fund must invest at least 70% of its net asset value (NAV) in short-term government securities or in issues guaranteed by the government. The fund is allowed to invest in corporate issues or financial institution papers, with a maximum of 15% of the fund’s NAV for each type of security. In terms of credit quality, at least 85% of the fund’s NAVs must be invested in ‘AAA(tha)’ securities, and the remaining in securities with a minimum rating of ‘AA-(tha)’ (AA minus(tha)). The maturity of each security must be less than six months, and the portfolio duration is targeted at below 0.25 years. The fund is managed by Ayudhya Fund Management Company Limited (AYF), which is a Thailand-based asset management company, 100% owned by Bank of Ayudhya. At end-August 2008, AYF had THB51.6 billion in assets under management, 73% of which were mutual funds, and the remaining were provident and private funds. Fund credit rating reflects the average credit quality of the fund’s overall portfolio and its investment policies. The volatility rating reflects the risk-adjusted duration of the fund’s investments, which incorporates interest rate, credit spread, liquidity, derivative and other applicable risk factors. Fitch notes that Thailand’s bond funds generally have short durations and therefore volatility definitions have been adjusted to provide greater differential between rated funds. A national fund credit rating of ‘AAA(tha)’ indicates that the fund has the highest credit quality standard for a bond fund in Thailand in terms of its portfolio assets, diversification, investment management and operational capabilities. Bond funds rated ‘V1(tha)’ are considered to have low market risk relative to other bond funds in Thailand, demonstrating relative stability in total returns over the short- to long-term holding periods. Disclosure: TISCO Asset Management Company Limited and Kasikorn Asset Management Company Limited each hold 10% of the shares in Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited. No shareholder, other than Fitch Ratings Limited of the UK, is involved in the day-to-day operation of, or credit rating reviews undertaken by, Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited.Note to Editors: Fitch’s National fund credit ratings are assigned on a scale of ‘AAA(tha)’ to ‘D(tha)’, on a rating scale similar to that of Fitch’s Long-term National credit ratings. Meanwhile, the volatility ratings are assigned on a scale of ‘V1+(tha)’ (least volatile) through ‘V10(tha)’ (most volatile). The ratings assigned to the fund are National ratings, and as such, they provide a relative measure of creditworthiness and total return stability only in comparison with other funds in Thailand. They are therefore not internationally comparable. Contacts: Napachak Phasukavanich, Lertchai Kochareonrattanakul, Vincent Milton, +662 655 4755.