MARC has withdrawn its A+ insurer financial strength (IFS) rating on Best Re (L) Limited (BEST RE) at the general reinsurer's request. The outlook was negative at the time of withdrawal. MARC has not been able to update the rating prior to withdrawing it due to insufficient available information. The negative outlook attached to BEST RE’s rating in January 2013 had reflected the potential fo...

MARC today has downgraded its Islamic debt ratings on Kinsteel Berhad’s (Kinsteel) RM100 million Murabahah Commercial Papers/Medium Term Notes (CP/MTN) Programme to DID from MARC-4ID/CID. Concurrently, the agency has withdrawn its ratings on the CP/MTN at the request of the issuer, with the consent of the sole outstanding Murabahah CP holder. Kinsteel’s CID rating on RM100 million Mura...

MARC has placed its AA-ID rating on Maju Expressway Sdn Bhd’s (MESB) RM550.0 million Islamic Medium Term Notes (IMTN) Programme on MARCWatch Negative. MESB holds the concession for the 26-kilometre Maju Expressway (MEX) which links the Kuala Lumpur City Centre with Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. This action is precipitated by 1) concerns over expected increases in financial leverage both at the pa...

MARC today lowered its long-term Islamic debt ratings on UMW Holdings Berhad’s (UMW) RM300 million Islamic Commercial Paper/Islamic Medium Term Notes (ICP/IMTN) Programme to AA+ID from AAAID. The rating agency also affirmed its short-term rating on the programme at MARC-1ID. MARC subsequently withdrew all ratings on UMW at its request. The outlook was stable at the time of the withdrawal. MA...

MARC has downgraded its Islamic debt ratings on the medium-term notes issued by Kinsteel Berhad (Kinsteel) under its RM100 million Murabahah Commercial Papers/Medium Term Notes (CP/MTN) Programme and RM100 million Murabahah Medium Term Notes (MTN) Programme to CID from BB+ID respectively. Its short-term rating on commercial papers issued under the CP/MTN Programme remains at MARC-4ID. All ratings ...

MARC has assigned a final rating of AA+ to CIMB Bank Berhad’s (CIMB Bank) RM10.0 billion Basel III-compliant Tier 2 Subordinated Debt Programme (Subordinated Debt Programme) with a stable outlook. Upon review of the final documentation of the forthcoming subordinated debt issuance, MARC is satisfied that the terms and conditions of the Subordinated Debt Programme have not changed in any mate...

MARC has affirmed its rating on Celcom Networks Sdn Bhd’s (CNSB) (formerly known as Celcom Transmission (M) Sdn Bhd) RM5.0 billion Sukuk Murabahah Programme at AAAIS with a stable outlook. CNSB is the owner of Celcom Axiata Berhad Group’s (Celcom Group) network assets and serves primarily as a network service provider to parent company Celcom and fellow subsidiary Celcom Mobile Sdn Bhd...

MARC has affirmed the AA+ rating on ABS Samudera Receivables Berhad’s (ASRB) Notes Series-A issued under its RM250.0 million Medium Term Notes Programme (MTN Programme) with a negative outlook. The principal amount of notes outstanding under the programme has remained at RM1.3 million since the early partial redemption of RM3.7 million in December 2011.ASRB is a bankruptcy remote special pur...

MARC has affirmed its MARC-1/AA ratings on Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad's (HLFG) RM1.8 billion Commercial Paper and Medium Term Notes (CP/MTN) programme with a stable outlook. HLFG is the non-operating holding company of a financial services group which holds the fifth largest domestic commercial bank, a leading domestic life insurer and a mid-tier investment bank.The ratings continue to refl...

MARC has today assigned long-term and short-term financial institution (FI) ratings of AA-/MARC-1 with a stable outlook to Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad (new HLIB, renamed from MIMB Investment Bank Berhad (MIMB)). At the same time, the rating agency has withdrawn former Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad's (former HLIB, now known as Promilia Sdn Bhd) ratings. The rating actions follow a review ...