Published on 13 November 2014
RAM Rating Services Berhad yesterday signed a
Mutual Collaboration Agreement with Rating and Investment Information,
Inc (R&I), Japan’s largest credit rating agency. The agreement was
signed by Datuk Seri Dr K Govindan, Group CEO of RAM Holdings Berhad and
Nobuyuki Ito, President and Representative Director of R&I. "The
signing is a significant milestone for us and signals the start of a
meaningful relationship with R&I going forward. With this, we hope
to facilitate and share market knowledge, as well as to establish areas
to further enhance rating capabilities of both rating agencies. Another
primary focus of the collaboration is also to support the development
and understanding of Islamic Finance, in support of Malaysia's aim to
expand her appeal to be the global Islamic Finance hub", notes Dr
Govindan. Commenting on the partnership, Nobuyuki Ito adds, "Beyond
Islamic Finance, there could be other opportunities where RAM and
R&I can work together on particularly as capital mobility gets more
international".
Japan has long been an important trade partner for
Malaysia, with Japanese presence in Malaysia established for some time
already. In Malaysia, Japanese corporates such as AEON Credit Service
(M) Sdn Bhd, Toyota Capital Malaysia Sdn Bhd and ORIX Leasing Malaysia
Berhad were some of the initial entities that entered the Malaysian
capital markets in 2007/2008. More recently, BTMU Malaysia Berhad - a
wholly-owned unit of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest
lender - became the first Japanese bank to enter the Sukuk market with a
$500 million Sukuk programme.
In Japan, tax reforms were introduced in 2011 to
level the playing field for the issuance of J-Sukuk and conventional
bonds for tax purposes, and amendments made to the Japanese
Securitisation Law to facilitate the issuance of the J-Sukuk. "As a
rating agency with substantial experience in Sukuk ratings, RAM is happy
to contribute towards the development of Islamic Finance and the
Japanese capital market - together with R&I - to meet the growing
demand and interest in Islamic Finance markets," concluded Foo Su Yin,
RAM Ratings' CEO.
Owned by the Nikkei Group, R&I has nearly 4
decades of bond market and credit experience. As of September 2014,
R&I's portfolio included rating services to 723 issuers, and a total
of approximately 7,000 issues, including long-term debt offerings,
medium term notes, asset-backed instruments and commercial papers. This
marks R&I’s first collaboration agreement with a credit rating
agency from the ASEAN region.
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