LONDON (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service is seeking to expand its presence in the Middle East, having opened an office in Dubai last year, a senior official at the agency said on Monday.
"We're expanding the office," which now has seven analysts, Khalid Howladar, a vice president at the ratings agency, told reporters at the Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit in London.
"At end 2006, we had two or three corporate ratings in the Gulf. By the end of 2007 it was around 25," he said.
The growth in corporate ratings is reminiscent of that seen in Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s as the introduction of the euro and the growing role of the corporate bond market spurred greater demand for ratings.
Now in Europe, for instance, a credit rating for many companies is an essential attribute for issuance of debt.
Howladar is moving to the region in the next few weeks, where he will be the senior credit officer covering securitization and sukuk finance.
He said that for companies, getting a rating opens up access to new financing and is also used as a prestige tool. "There's a lot more interest in ratings," Howladar said.
In particular, a rating becomes necessary when a company wishes to reach an international investor base, where many fund managers have to undertake additional work if they wish to invest in unrated companies.
Moody's rivals, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, also have offices in Dubai. S&P has said it too has plans to expand the number of staff it has based there.
(Reporting by Richard Barley and Jane Baird, editing by Will Waterman)
© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.
| Japan Investment | Jul 01 - 2, 2008 | Country Summits |
| Global Real Estate | Jun 23 - 25, 2008 | Real Estate |
| Consumer and Retail | Jun 16 - 18, 2008 | Consumer Retail |
| Investment Outlook | Jun 09 - 12, 2008 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
| Global Energy | Jun 01 - 5, 2008 | Energy |
