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Standard & Poor’s is best known for stock market indices such as the US-based S&P 500 and for its credit ratings, competing against Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Rating agencies came under fire for issuing top ratings to pools of mortgages which included subprime loans and in February 2013, the US Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against S&P, seeking US$5 billion in civil damages.
The US investment bank says the residential sector will see a gradual recovery this year after the US Federal Reserve begins to cut rates and Hong Kong mortgage rates are lowered from the second quarter onwards.
China’s central bank on Friday published recent fines on six credit ratings firms, including the China unit of S&P Global, for violating rules.
State-owned companies will dominate as the age of ‘fast leverage and fast growth’ is over, and developers face brutal years ahead, analysts said.
Subsidiary Fantasia Group (China) will cooperate with Blue Green Shuangcheng under a ‘co-construction’ model, which will see them work together on implementing a range of measures to revive the group.
Deterioration of local-government finances has become a key concern for policymakers and investors amid the slower-than-expected economic recovery.
Diversification by firms away from Taiwan could limit future investment, potentially muting economic growth, with capital already shifting to other Asian economies, including Malaysia, ratings agencies have warned.
Higher interest rates are expected to help drive profit gains at big Hong Kong lenders, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, in second quarter as US Federal Reserve prepares to hikes rates further.
Bonds of Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group, a unit of China’s biggest commercial property developer, tumbled on Thursday after ratings agency S&P Global downgraded its notes for a second time this week.
The monetary authority aims to send out requests in the next few months, seeking to head off potential risk to the nation’s economy as Philippine-listed companies have increased their reliance on cheap borrowed capital.
Chinese lenders largely shrugged off the recent banking crisis in developed markets, gaining in value to take the top five spots in a league table of Asia-Pacific banks ranked by market capitalisation.
The total payout by constituents of the CSI 300, which tracks the biggest 300 stocks in Shenzhen and Shanghai, was up 14 per cent last year, as Beijing encouraged companies to reward their shareholders.
The way Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global have incorporated ESG factors into credit analysis has had no effect on their conventional credit assessments, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Heavily indebted Fosun International has been selling some assets as it faced questions about its financial strength in recent months.
At least a fifth of rated Chinese property developers will end up becoming insolvent, putting as much as US$88 billion of their distressed bonds at risk, according to S&P Global Ratings.
China Chengxin says further downgrades could follow as repayment capacity falls.
China Huarong Asset Management had missed an earlier March 31 deadline to announce preliminary results, saying that its auditors needed more time.
Banks wrestle with moral hazard of lending to zombie companies amid coronavirus pandemic as more borrowers queue up for credit in toughest conditions since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Credit agency predicts spending will continue to rise as city addresses underlying issues, including increasing societal divisions.
Operational costs and risks are likely to stay elevated as protests continue, S&P says, with companies such as MTR Corporation and the Airport Authority Hong Kong at most immediate risk
S&P Global Ratings is the first foreign credit-rating company to rate domestic Chinese bonds after awarding its top score to a unit of the country’s largest bank.
The rebound in US stocks on Monday ‘leads me to think that while the markets are saying this isn’t much fun, this is still likely to blow over’, an analyst says.
All three major credit rating agencies have now downgraded the island nation’s status, amid concerns it will be unable to refinance its debts