PhilRatings announces its first issuer rating ever of a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) — the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilExim), a government financial institution attached to the Department of Finance.
PhilExim is given an issuer rating of PRS Aaa (corp.) that is defined as, “the company has a VERY STRONG capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Filipino corporations. A PRS Aaa rating is the highest issuer credit rating assigned on the PhilRatings scale.”
The rating reflects PhilExim’s public policy role as the Philippines’ official export credit agency, providing financial facilities in support of the government’s export strategy, foreign trade and investment policies. PhilExim’s mandate to promote Philippine exports makes the agency an important instrument of government policy, especially in light of the current global economic slowdown. All obligations, including guarantees, of PhilExim carry the full faith and credit of the Republic of the Philippines.
Additionally, the rating reflects PhilExim’s positive financial profile given its satisfactory asset quality and profitability as well as very conservative capitalization. Although its operations are guided by its public policy mandate and not driven by profit motives, the agency has managed to maintain its profitability even in economically difficult times. PhilExim has historically financed itself using internally generated funds and currently has no outstanding borrowings from any financial institution or the national government.
As differentiated from PhilRatings’ outstanding issue ratings or ratings related to a particular commercial paper, bond, or debt security, an issuer credit rating measures the over-all creditworthiness of a company or its ability to meet its outstanding financial commitments. It can be used for financing, marketing, or benchmarking purposes.