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.