Bangkok--19 Jan--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings will host a teleconference on Wednesday, 21 January, at 2PM Hong Kong/Singapore to discuss its outlook for banks in Asia excluding Japan.
In recent months the economic outlook for Asia has dimmed significantly to the extent that in 2009, Asian economies are facing slower growth or in many cases outright recessions. Fitch therefore expects to see a trend toward weaker revenues, higher NPLs and bad debt charges at banks across the region. The agency expects this to result in reduced but still positive levels of net profitability for those systems with good underlying profit margins, but some are likely to incur net losses. These trends will lead to capital pressures and prompt further capital-raising efforts both to offset the effects of weaker profitability, and to raise capital ratios to the new higher norms that are becoming the standard in the wake of the crisis.
The teleconference will be hosted by David Marshall, Head of Financial Institutions. He will be joined by his team of regional bank analysts. James McCormack, Head of Asia Pacific Sovereigns will also be on the call with an overview of the Asian economy.
This teleconference follows the upcoming release of Fitch's report, "Banks in Asia (Excluding Japan): Outlook for 2009" which will be available shortly on www.fitchratings.com.
The call is expected to run approximately 20 minutes, followed by a short Q&A session for interested participants.
To register for this event, please contact Valerie Tan (+65 6796 7209/ [email protected]) by 5PM Hong Kong/Singapore Tuesday, 20 January 2009.
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: Wednesday, 21st January 2009
-- Time: 2PM HK/SG
-- Singapore Toll Free: 800 6162 212
-- Malaysia Toll Free: 1800 181 225
-- 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 (CNC): 10800 6400 091
-- China (CTC): 10800 2640 090
-- Hong Kong Toll Free: 800 962 681
-- Indonesia Toll Free: 00180 3061 2084
-- Philippines Toll Free: 1800 1612 0024
-- Thailand Toll Free: 001800 612 1073
-- Taiwan Toll Free: 00801 232 383
-- India Toll Free: 000 800 100 6486
-- UK Toll Free: 0808 234 8304
-- US Toll Free: 1866 888 7010
-- Alternate International: + 61 2 8113 1426
Replay:
An archived replay of the teleconference will be available from the 'Events Calendar' on the Fitch Ratings Asia website, www.fitchratingsasia.com, from 23 January 2009.
Media Relations: Nicole Batchelor, Singapore, Tel: +65 6796 7214, Email: [email protected].