Rating agency Moody’s placed Brazilian state-owned development bank BNDES on review for an upgrade after announcing changes to its methodology for rating government-owned non-bank financial institutions. In place of a government's bond rating, Moody's will now use the newly introduced Local Currency Deposit Ceiling as a measure of the ability of a national government to rescue government-owned financial institutions. BNDES'foreign currency bond ratings is Ba1.
Seven funds and companies investing in central and eastern Europe, including Romania, have listed on the London Stock Exchange in the last few months. Romania's economic growth in recent years and upcoming EU accession have encouraged foreign investors to enter the Romanian market. Real estate and mining are among the most popular industries for foreign investors.
Fitch Ratings said it may revise Thailand's rating downwards if political turmoil is prolonged. Fitch's Head of Asia James McCormack, said persisting political uncertainty could affect Thailand's medium-term growth post prospects. McCormack also said that the dampening effect of political uncertainty on GDP growth so far could be cleared up later this year, if resolved quickly. Thailand's economy would bounce back to 4.6% growth next year from 4.3% this year.
The bank of Korea reported that the country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.3 billion during August, to reach $227 billion. The Bank of Korea attributed the rise in foreign exchange reserves to rises in the euro and the yen. S Korea's foreign currency reserves are the fifth largest in the world after China, Japan, Russia and Taiwan.