MARC has lifted the negative outlook placed on Europlus Corporation Sdn Bhd’s (ECSB) RM350 million Murabahah Underwritten Notes Issuance Facility (MUNIF) following the normalization of ECSB’s construction work in the last four months. With the stabilization of raw material supplies and the continued efforts by ECSB to complete construction work on a timely basis, the cash flow emanating from the various developments assigned to the Noteholders’ appears to have normalized. MARC notes that ECSB’s payments into the MUNIF’s sinking fund account have been consistently made one month ahead of schedule. In the near term, construction works are expected to progress as planned without any significant delays hence allowing ECSB to generate billings as scheduled.

A restructuring exercise of the MUNIF’s SFA payment schedule and lengthening of the facility’s tenure was undertaken in the early part of 2004 with MARC receiving confirmation from the bond’s Trustee in May 2004 that the restructuring exercise has been completed with the consent of the Noteholders’. MARC has however been informed that the formal approval from the Securities Commission (SC) has not been obtained to date as it is still pending submission to the SC.

MARC will continue to monitor developments and assess the impact on the rating accordingly.