ASEAN to spur credit ratings growth

ASEAN to spur credit ratings growth

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Standard & Poor's sees a growing demand for its ratings services in ASEAN countries as demand for debt capital rises in the region's economies.

Standard & Poor's president and chief rating officer Leo O'Neill said at a conference here that the agency's favorable outlook is supported by its positive view of sovereign risks in the region.

The agency's recent upgrade of foreign currency debt ratings in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines reflected high domestic savings rates and a strong export orientation in the region, O'Neill said.

He said the expansion of infrastructure and telecommunications facilities, and the privatization of utility and transport sectors in the region, would also spur growth in infrastructure finance ratings.

Noting that Standard & Poor's had published credit ratings and risk evaluations on 40 major financial institutions in Southeast Asia, O'Neill said interest in the region's financial institutions was high.

Standard & Poor's has leased office space in Singapore with its other units, MMS International and Platt's.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.