Moody's to buy minority stake in PhilRatings

MANILA, Philippines — U.S.-based financial services firm Moody's Corp. has agreed to buy a minority stake in Philippine Rating Services Corp., betting that the country's growing bond market and infrastructure pipeline will drive demand for domestic credit ratings.

The deal would mark the first investment by a global credit rating agency in a Philippine ratings firm. PhilRatings will continue to operate independently under its existing management and governance structure, with control over its credit-rating processes, Moody's said Monday, September 14.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The investment expands Moody's network of domestic rating-agency affiliates in the Asia-Pacific region.

Moody's pointed to more than $100 billion in planned Philippine infrastructure investments over the next three years as an indication of the country's financing potential.

"Strong domestic debt markets are essential to supporting sustainable economic growth," said Wendy Cheong, managing director and regional head of Asia Pacific at Moody's Ratings.

Cheong said PhilRatings' knowledge of the Philippine market would complement Moody's global credit views for domestic investors.

Across Southeast Asia, outstanding domestic corporate bonds are more than twice the value of cross-border holdings, according to Moody's, underscoring the role of local debt markets in raising capital.

As the Philippine market expands, Moody's said credit ratings and research could help companies reach new sources of capital, refine their funding strategies and provide investors with greater transparency.

PhilRatings President Angelica Viloria said Moody's global standards, technical support and industry practices would help the Manila-based firm strengthen its work in the domestic credit market.

"Moody's role as a minority stakeholder reinforces our commitment to trust, credibility, and best-in-class credit ratings and research for the Philippine market," Viloria said.

PhilRatings provides domestic credit ratings used in the Philippine debt-capital market.

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