Business Mirror 7/9/2008

Local credit-rating agency Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings), the Philippines’ pioneer domestic credit-rating agency, has given Ayala Land Inc.’s (ALI) P4-billion bond issue a “PRS Aaa” rating.

This is the highest credit rating the agency gives out to debts of government and private entities. The P4-billion ALI bond issue will mature in 2013.

ALI’s existing P2-billion bond issue due in November was given the same rating.

In a note, PhilRatings said a “PRS Aaa” is given to debt obligations “with the smallest degree of investment risk.”

“Interest payments are protected by a large, or by an exceptionally stable, margin and principal is secured. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues,” PhilRatings said.