Thomson Ratings Philippines

completed

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)Project NamePhilippines: Thomson Ratings Philippines      RegionEast Asia and PacificSectorProject No009208Projected Board DateAugust 27, 1998Company NameThomson Ratings Philippines (TRP)Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders The main sponsor is Thomson Bankwatch, the world’s largest bank rating agency, which provides a broad range of research and analysis on over 1,000 banking, securities and financial firms in 94 countries. Thomson Bankwatch is a division of Thomson Financial Services, a leading provider of quality financial information products, research and software to the global investment and corporate communities. The parent company of the group is The Thomson Corporation, a publicly listed company based in Toronto and considered to be one of Canada’s five largest companies with total resources of about US$13.3 billion and revenues of nearly US$9 billion in 1997. Thomson has been involved in similar projects of establishing credit agencies in Argentina (Magister/Bankwatch), Colombia (Bankwatch Ratings de Colombia, S.A.), Ecuador (Calificadora de Riesgos Ratings S.A.) and Hungary (Focus Investment Rating Company) It also supplied technical assistance and helped establish the second credit rating institution in Malaysia (Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd).Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment Total Project Cost is US$500,000. IFC''s investment would be US$75,000 for a 15% equity stake in TRP.Location of project and Description of site The company will be established in the Philippines, to be majority owned by Thomson Bankwatch (80%) through TTC Thomson Holding AG, a Swiss company. TTC Thomson Holding AG and Thomson Bankwatch are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Thomson Canada Ltd. which in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Thomson Corporation. Description of Company and Purpose of Project The project involves the establishment of a credit rating agency that will offer a full range of ratings services to the Philippine domestic market using internationally accepted methodologies and standards. Services will cover all types of issues and issuers, principally ratings of short term and long term commercial papers (local bonds). The project is expected to (i) provide for increased disclosure and improve market information flows; (ii) encourage companies to improve their financial structures in order to obtain better rating, and therefore, lower their cost of borrowings; (iii) promote the differentiation of interest rates based on risk and maturity, and thereby assist in the efficient allocation of resources. Environmental Category and Issues This is an environmental review category C project. No further environmental review is required.Date SPI sent to InfoShop July 20, 1998“This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of consideration of the proposed transaction by the Corporation’s Board of Directors. It is provided for the purpose of enhancing the transparency of IFC’s activities and should not be construed as presuming the outcome of IFC Board consideration.”For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -telephone: (202) 473-7711facsimile: (202) 974-4384