MARC has downgraded its rating on Ingress Sukuk Berhad’s (ISB) RM160 million Sukuk Al Ijarah (Sukuk) to A-IS from AIS. ISB is a wholly-owned funding vehicle of Ingress Corporation Berhad (Ingress). The rating remains on MARCWatch Negative where it had first been placed on July 28, 2008. The downgrade incorporates the deteriorating liquidity position and declining profitability of Ingress and...

MARC has placed Boon Koon Group Bhd’s (Boon Koon) short- and long-term ratings of MARC-2ID/A-ID on its RM100 million Islamic Commercial Papers/ Islamic Medium Term Notes (ICP/IMTN) on MARCWatch Negative following a debt-to-equity covenant breach based on its unaudited balance sheet as at December 31, 2008 (FY2008). At end FY2008, the group’s debt-to-equity ratio had risen to 1.58 times...

MARC has affirmed the rating of Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd’s (Perwaja) RM400.0 Million Murabahah Medium Term Notes (MMTN) Programme at AID and revised its outlook to developing from stable. The affirmed rating reflects Perwaja’s competitive strength as a major local producer of direct reduced iron (DRI) and its strategic importance to parent company, Kinsteel Berhad, which has a long term r...

MARC has placed M-Trex Corporation Sdn Bhd’s (M-Trex) MARC-3ID rating on its RM60.0 million Islamic Commercial Paper (ICP) Programme on MARCWatch Negative due to the significant refinancing risk that is associated with the company’s plans to redeem the outstanding ICPs of RM48 million by second quarter 2009. The MARCWatch Negative placement also highlights M-Trex’s failure to pro...

MARC has placed its AID ratings on Antara Steel Mills Sdn Bhd’s (Antara) RM500 million Bai’ Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BAIDS) Programme on MARCWatch Negative. The rating action follows recent confirmation from Antara that its Labuan-based Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant had remained shut down since the completion of its scheduled maintenance in October 2008. The MARCWatch N...

MARC has downgraded the rating of automotive parts supplier Tracoma Holdings Berhad’s (Tracoma) RM100 million Al Bai’ Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BaIDS) to DID from CID. The rating action reflects Tracoma’s failure to redeem its first BaIDS series of RM50 million based on the original scheduled maturity on January 28, 2009, as confirmed by the BaIDS’ Trustee, Pac...

MARC has affirmed its AAAID ratings on Optimal Olefins (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd’s (Olefins) RM250.0 million Al Bai Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BaIDS). The rating outlook is stable. The rating reflects Olefins’ ownership by Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, its secured feedstock source with favourable price ...

MARC has downgraded the rating of automotive parts supplier Tracoma Holdings Berhad’s (Tracoma) RM100 million Al Bai’ Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BaIDS) to CID from BID to reflect our expectation that no payment will be made on its first BaIDS series of RM50 million maturing on January 28, 2009. Concurrently, we have placed the lowered rating on MARCWatch Negative. Since our...

MARC has removed its rating on Englotechs Holding Berhad’s (Englotechs) RM50.0 million Murabahah Medium-Term Note Programme (MMTN) from MARCWatch Negative and downgraded the rating to BBID from BBB-ID. Englotechs’ rating was first placed on MARCWatch Negative on April 1, 2008 due to a breach in financial covenants. The outlook on the rating is now negative.The downgrade is premised on ...

MARC has placed the AAAID(s) ratings on Optimal Glycols (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Glycols) and Optimal Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd’s (Chemicals) RM453.0 million and RM567.0 million Bai Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BaIDS) respectively on MARCWatch Negative. The rating action follows the Kuwaiti government's decision to pull out of a USD17.4 billion 50:50 petrochemicals joint venture with...