Singapore, June 02, 2014 -- Moody's Investors Service has today affirmed Thailand's long-term
issuer ratings at Baa1 with a stable outlook.
The affirmation is based on the view that Thailand's fundamental credit
strengths remain largely intact despite ongoing political confrontations.
The stable rating outlook reflects the expectation that the recent military
coup and the lingering political uncertainty will not undermine Thailand's
credit strengths to a material degree over the next 12 to 18 months.
Concurrently with this action, Moody's has also affirmed Thailand's
short-term Prime-2 commercial paper program rating,
the provisional (P)Baa1 MTN/Shelf issuance rating, and the Baa1
Japan Bonds/Thai Bonds issuance rating.
Key drivers for the decision to affirm the rating at Baa1 are:
• The government's unimpaired ability to manage its finances
• Strong institutional anchors which are unaffected by the military
coup
• Sustained external strength
In a related rating action, Moody's has also affirmed the senior
unsecured Baa1 rating for the country's central bank, the Bank of
Thailand.
Thailand's country ceilings remain unchanged. The foreign currency
debt ceiling is at A2/P-1, while the foreign currency bank
deposit ceiling is at Baa1/P-2. The country risk ceiling
for local currency obligations also remains unchanged at A1. These
ceilings act as a cap on ratings that can be assigned to the foreign and
local-currency obligations of entities domiciled in the country.
RATINGS RATIONALE
RATIONALE FOR RATING AFFIRMATION AT Baa1
Moody's sees that Thailand's fundamental credit strengths remain largely
intact and are strong enough to weather cyclical pressures on the economy
and recurring bouts of political instability.
First driver -- The government's unimpaired ability to manage
its finances
The Thai government's demonstrated ability to manage prudently its debt
through times of political turbulence remains unchanged, even after
the May 22 military coup d'état, and even against a
backdrop of weakened investment and economic performance.
Thailand's favorable debt structure mitigates foreign exchange and
refinancing risks, given its reliance on local-currency denominated
instruments and the comparatively long average time to maturity of the
debt stock, at 7.9 years. The share of foreign-currency
denominated government debt as a portion of overall direct general government
debt was below 2% at end-2013, indicating virtually
no risk of a currency mismatch in light of the country's ample foreign
currency reserves.
Moody's expects direct general government debt levels to stay manageable
and comparatively lower than the median for similarly-rated peers.
Fiscal policy formulation and public debt management are guided by explicit
fiscal rules, which provide checks against potential challenges
to fiscal discipline from off-budget expenditure and financing.
Second driver -- Strong institutional anchors which are unaffected
by the military coup
Moody's sees three entities as strong institutional anchors for Thailand's
rating: the Bank of Thailand, the Fiscal Policy Office and
the Public Debt Management Office. The latter two entities are
part of the Ministry of Finance.
For example, Bank of Thailand's successful core inflation targeting
regime has helped to keep government funding costs low and stable;
indeed, current and past episodes of political turbulence have not
led to sharp rises in benchmark bond yields
Third driver -- Sustained external strength
Moody's expects the current account to shift into surplus of around 1%
of GDP in 2014, after small current account deficits in 2012 and
2013.
Although the share of non-resident investors in the domestic local
currency government bond market has increased since 2009, it remains
smaller than for other countries in the region, like Malaysia (A3
positive) or Indonesia (Baa3 stable). In addition, ample
domestic liquidity mitigates the risk of interest rate volatility stemming
from potential outflows, either from heightened political risk or
the further normalization of monetary policy in advanced markets.
Moreover, Thailand's external vulnerability indicator, which
looks at short-term external liabilities in relation to official
foreign reserves available at the end of the previous year, compares
favorably to the similarly rated peers.
RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK
The stable rating outlook balances Thailand's fundamental credit strengths
against challenges arising from polarized politics, rising government
debt, and slow progress with regard to fiscal consolidation.
The stable outlook also reflects the fact that Moody's captures Thailand's
heightened level of political uncertainty evident since the 2006 military
coup d'état, which effectively restrains the upward
bound of Thailand's indicative rating range.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN
A positive rating outlook or rating upgrade look highly unlikely at this
time, but potentially credit-positive developments would
include: (1) an improvement in the political climate and transparent
road-map for reforms, that clearly outlines the way from
military rule towards a stable civilian government; (2) progress
in strengthening public sector finances, which would include reducing
the budget deficit and off-budget spending, as well as limiting
contingent fiscal liabilities from populist measures; and/or (3)
a return to pre-political crisis trend economic growth rates.
Factors that could trigger a negative rating outlook or a rating downgrade
include: (1) an escalation of conflict between the military and
protesters, resulting in significant and potentially long-lasting
effects on tourism or manufacturing; (2) a significant rise in government
funding costs related to domestic political uncertainty or a lapse in
fiscal discipline; and/or (3) a sharp deterioration of the balance
of payments and significant loss of official international reserves.
GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 9,875 (2013
Actual) (also known as Per Capita Income)
Real GDP growth (% change): 2.9% (2013 Actual)
(also known as GDP Growth)
Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 1.7%
(2013 Actual)
Gen. Gov. Financial Balance/GDP: -2%
(2013 Actual) (also known as Fiscal Balance)
Current Account Balance/GDP: -0.7% (2013 Actual)
(also known as External Balance)
External debt/GDP: 36.1% (2013 Actual)
Level of economic development: Moderate level of economic resilience
Default history: No default events (on bonds or loans) have been
recorded since 1983.
On 29 May 2014, a rating committee was called to discuss the rating
of the Thailand, Government of. The main points raised during
the discussion were: The issuer's economic fundamentals, including
its economic strength, have not materially changed. The issuer's
institutional strength/ framework, have not materially changed.
The issuer's governance and/or management, have not materially changed.
The issuer's fiscal or financial strength, including its debt profile,
has not materially changed. The issuer's susceptibility to event
risks has not materially changed.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Bond Ratings
published in September 2013. Please see the Credit Policy page
on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used
in this rating action, if applicable.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this rating action, the
associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Steffen Dyck
Asst Vice President - Analyst
Sovereign Risk Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (65) 6398-8308
Bart Oosterveld
MD - Sovereign Risk
Sovereign Risk Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (65) 6398-8308
Moody's affirms Thailand's Baa1 sovereign rating; outlook stable