the facts about rating agencies?

> There are e three big international rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch. They control 95% of the rating business.

> RAM Holdings and Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) are two home-grown rating agencies.

> Danajamin Nasional Bhd is a credit guarantee issuer that gives a guarantee to lower-rated companies for a fee to help reduce their borrowing costs.

> Ratings are important as they determine the cost of funds for governments and companies – the higher the rating, the lower the cost of funds.

> Malaysia’s sovereign rating by S&P is A-, A3 by Moody’s and A- by Fitch.

> The ratingg of Petroliam Nasional Bhd d is higher than n the country’s s credit rating. It is rated A1 by y Moody’s and A- by S&P.

> Both Malaysian Government Securities and Petronas bonds are highly sought after by large institutional funds, often with those debt issues oversubscribed by investors

> A bond rating higher than BBBby S&P and Baa3 by Moody’s is considered investment grade. Malaysia’s rating is investment grade category, which is important for global capital markets.

> Malaysia has a higher credit rating than what its fundamentals show. Its high economic growth rate and current account surpluses give it a better rating than usual.