Bangkok--5 Aug--Moody's Investors
Moody's Investors Service says that the rating trend for corporates in Asia Pacific (ex Japan) remained stable in 2Q 2010 as negative rating actions were only marginally higher than positive actions, and this stable trend is likely to continue for the coming quarters.
"During Q2 2010, there were 8 negative actions versus 7 positive, and all of the actions were from the Asian portfolio," says Clara Lau, a Moody's Group Credit Officer."The oil & gas and metal & mining sectors accounted for most of the negative actions due to an expected weakening in financial metrics, in turn a result of substantial investments or ambitious acquisitions. The positive rating actions were mainly driven by improved credit fundamentals due, in turn, to an improving operating environment, and better liquidity and capital structure management by the companies concerned," adds Lau.
"The trend for rated Japanese corporates also began to stabilize, benefiting from demand from China and gradual global economic improvements ," says Lau.
Lau was speaking on the release of Moody's update of corporate rating trends in Asia Pacific during 2Q 2010. The report was authored by Lau.
"The rating outlook for rated corporates in Asia Pacific (ex Japan) is expected to remain broadly stable as the proportion of issuers with stable outlooks increased notably and returned to pre-crisis levels," says Lau.
While the rated Japanese corporates portfolio had no positive rating action, the number of negative rating action continued to decline. There were 5 negative actions in Q2 2010 , down from 8 in Q1 2010. "However, most sectors in Japan still exhibited a broadly negative rating trend with the exception of the utilities and consumer electronics/ technology sectors, primarily reflecting concerns that it will take longer than expected for the corporates to recover earnings and improve their capital structures amidst weak domestic demand and the challenges of a strong Yen,' says Lau. "The negative trend is most notable for the manufacturing and real estate sectors."
The report is entitled 2Q 2010 Rating Outlook and Actions Summary for Asia Pacific Rated Corporates. It can be found at www.moodys.com