KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) reiterates that its liquidity position is strong despite a move by Moody’s Investor Services to withdraw its rating on the 5.99% US$1.75bil senior unsecured notes issued by 1MDB Energy Ltd.
It said on Wednesday that it took note of the withdrawal and emphasised the move was undertaken without a downgrade in Moody’s “Aa2” credit rating for the Energy Notes and that the Energy Notes continue to benefit from a “AA” rating from Standard and Poor’s.
“1MDB’s reiterates that its liquidity position is strong and the company remains focused on execution of its successful rationalisation plan,” it said.
The international ratings agency had stated on Tuesday the withdrawal of the Aa2 rating on the notes was “for its own business reasons”.
Under Moody’s “Policy for withdrawal of credit ratings for business reasons”, this referred to Moddy’s own business reasons, not the business reasons of the rated entity or obligor.
Moody’s said its business reasons generally do not reflect any concerns about the rated entity’s creditworthiness or the quality of its management.
Moody’s decision to withdraw a rating under these circumstances will attempt to balance the informational benefit to market participants from maintaining a credit rating against the resources required to maintain and monitor that credit rating or other business considerations.
