Posted Date : 02 Mar 2009

Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) held an Appreciation Night on 27th February 2009 for the financial institution fraternity comprising Investment, Islamic and Commercial Banks in recognition for their key role in advising, arranging and originating private debt securities issuances in 2008 rated by MARC. These institutions have contributed immensely to the growth of the Malaysian bond market.

The Minister of Finance II, Y.B. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, was the guest of honour in this special event held in a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The event was also attended by the Chief Executive Officers and senior management of the local and foreign banks as well as representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Securities Commission.

In conjunction with the event, MARC accorded recognition to the distinct group of financial institutions that made it to MARC’s 2008 Lead Managers League Table. MARC conferred awards to seven Investment Banks namely CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, RHB Investment Bank Berhad, Maybank Investment Bank Berhad (formerly known as Aseambankers (Malaysia) Berhad), OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Berhad, OSK Investment Bank Berhad and HwangDBS Investment Bank Berhad.

The award recipients and awards presented are as follows:-

In addition to the Top Lead Managers’ awards, MARC also recognized certain bond issuances rated by the rating agency for their distinctiveness and innovation in 2008. In this category, The Export-Import Bank of Korea’s or KEXIM Conventional and/or Islamic Medium Term Notes Programme of up to RM3 billion in Ringgit Malaysia and/or Foreign Currencies was accorded MARC’s Benchmark Deal for 2008. RHB Investment Bank Berhad as the Principal Adviser/Lead Arranger and Joint Lead Manager, CIMB Investment Bank Berhad and OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad as Joint Lead Managers were recognized for their roles in bringing the deal to the market. CIMB Bank Berhad’s Non-Innovative Tier 1 Stapled Securities Programme of up to RM4.0 billion was named “Innovative Deal Of The Year 2008”. This deal was brought to the market by the Principal Adviser/Lead Arranger, CIMB Investment Bank Berhad.

MARC’s Chairman, En Mohammad Abdullah, in his speech said that 2008 was a challenging year for the domestic debt capital markets. “The first three quarters of 2008 saw robust new bonds issuances totaling RM43.5 billion, but new bond issuances dropped considerably in the fourth quarter to RM5.1 billion. Total new bonds issuances in 2008 fell to RM48.6 billion from RM54 billion in 2007.”

MARC’s Chief Executive Officer, En Mohd Razlan Mohamed commented that the global economic turmoil will result in continued risk aversion towards lower rated corporate bonds.

“A flight to safe haven investments such as government bonds is expected to persist going forward. Given this challenging environment, the value of new corporate bonds issuances is expected to drop to around RM25 to RM30 billion,” Razlan said. He envisages the government will continue to be proactive in its intervention policy to ensure that the domestic bond market remains relevant to both issuers and investors.

The Lead Managers Appreciation Night is held annually to showcase Malaysia’s top achievers in bringing MARC-rated bond deals to the market. The awards presented by Y.B. Tan Sri Nor Yakcob, are highly coveted by capital market players.

Contacts:
Roza Shahnaz Omar 03-2090 2214/ roza@marc.com.my;
Shanizar Ahmad Shahar 03-20902212/ shanizar@marc.com.my