Ratings agency News

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday cut Qatar`s credit rating by one notch to AA- and put it on watch for further downgrades after Gulf Arab states severed ties.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor`s (S&P) cut its outlook on China from stable to negative on Thursday, warning that economic rebalancing was taking longer than expected

The ratings agency said Asia's large population, GDP growth, and voracious appetite for data services will boost revenues across most of the region's telecom markets.

Fitch Ratings' on Monday said challenges for state-owned banks remain despite improving macro picture.

"The property development sector (will) be a key beneficiary of reductions in housing loan interest rates by several domestic banks in April 2015," the agency said.

"In the near-term their capital structure will be impacted," it said in a note, adding even the part payments for the spectrum will stretch their key capital ratios.

Rating agency Fitch on Wednesday downgraded Steel Authority of India Ltd's (SAIL) credit profile to 'negative' from 'stable' stating subdued operating performance.

Basel-III norms -- which will come into effect from March 31, 2019 -- was basically a reinforcement of the existing Basel-II, according to an RBI official.

Global agency Moody's said the credit profile still faces a constraint from the fiscal side, while the government has decided to focus more on growth than the fiscal consolidation.

The cascading effect of the increase in domestic and international enplanements has resulted in y-o-y increase in non-aeronautical revenues also across airports in FY14, it said.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Egypt`s credit rating one rank to "B" with a "stable" outlook Friday, saying the authorities seemed committed to major reforms.

Ratings agency Moody's expects the country's GDP to grow at 5.3 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal, better than 4.8 per cent clocked in the year-ago period.

The ongoing global weakness is forcing clients to trim their spends, which has in-turn forced IT companies to find ways to rationalise costs and ensure profitability.

It has also assigned B+ rating to the company's proposed dollar denominated notes.

The report further notes that together these measures will harness the country's economic advantages of size, diversity and a deep pool of labour and savings.

The incentives announced by the RBI "are likely to have a positive impact on banks' competitive position vis-a-vis the housing finance companies", it said in a note.

Fitch said the new government led by Narendra Modi has made new long-term capital investment cycle as a policy focus.

Ratings agency Fitch warned on Monday that a merger plan by Malaysia`s second largest bank CIMB Group with RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society to create the country`s biggest lender was fraught with risk.