Moody’s Agrees to Acquire Minority Stake in Manila-Based Rater PhilRatings

Moody’s Corporation (MCO ) announced on September 14, 2026 that it has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings), a domestic credit rating agency headquartered in Manila. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Following the investment, PhilRatings will continue to operate independently with its own management, governance and credit rating processes, according to the announcement. Moody’s said Moody’s Ratings is the first global credit rating agency to invest in a domestic credit rating agency in the Philippines, and that the investment expands its Asia-Pacific network of domestic rating agency affiliates. The announcement describes PhilRatings as playing an important role in supporting the development of the Philippine debt capital markets.

“Strong domestic debt markets are essential to supporting sustainable economic growth,” said Wendy Cheong, Managing Director and Regional Head of Asia Pacific at Moody’s Ratings. She said PhilRatings has built deep insight into the local market and that its ratings serve as a strong complement to Moody’s global views on credit for investors in the Philippines.

According to the announcement, domestic corporate bonds outstanding in the ASEAN region are more than twice the size of cross-border holdings, and more than US$100 billion of infrastructure investment is planned in the Philippines over the next three years. Moody’s said that as the Philippine domestic bond market continues to develop, credit ratings and research will play a meaningful role in helping issuers access new sources of capital, develop funding strategies and signal transparency to support investor confidence.

“Moody’s Ratings’ global standards, best practices and technical support will help us advance our mission to strengthen the credit market infrastructure in the Philippines,” said Angelica B. Viloria, President of PhilRatings. She said Moody’s role as a minority stakeholder reinforces the firm’s commitment to trust, credibility, and best-in-class credit ratings and research for the Philippine market.

PhilRatings’ Ownership and Regulatory Standing

PhilRatings is the pioneer domestic credit rating agency in the Philippines, according to its company profile, and it has been assigning ratings since 1985, when it operated as a department of Credit Information Bureau, Inc. (CIBI; now CIBI Information, Inc.), a company established in April 1982. The credit rating department and function were spun off to form a separate and independent entity in 1998, and the firm was registered as a provider of credit rating services on March 22, 1999. The company is owned by two foundations: Go Kim Pah Foundation, with 70%, and CIBI Foundation, Inc., with 30%.

The firm is accredited as a credit rating agency by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission under Securities Regulation Code Rule 12.1. It states that it is the first and only domestic credit rating agency recognized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for bank supervisory purposes, a recognition whose eligibility criteria include a minimum five-year track record in issuing reliable and credible ratings, a pool of experienced analysts, a competent and experienced board of directors, an established rating methodology, and an established record of independence, objectivity and transparency.

PhilRatings’ ratings are used by the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation for securities listed on PDEx, and the Insurance Commission uses its ratings when companies issuing securities seek to tap insurance companies as investors. The company says its ratings have also been accepted by regulators and parties in other Asian countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam, in relation to insurance companies and insurance company-related transactions. Its rating coverage spans bonds, including Green Bonds, commercial papers, bank loans, banks and other financial institutions such as insurance companies, local government units, asset-backed securities, project finance transactions and real estate investment trusts. It is a founding member of the Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia.

The company’s published history records a series of rating firsts. In 1995 it assigned its highest short-term rating of PRS 1 for the first time, to Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc.’s Php 500 million in short-term commercial papers and Ayala Land, Inc.’s Php 1.0 billion in short-term commercial papers. In 1996 it assigned its highest long-term rating of PRS Aaa for the first time, to long-term commercial papers issued by Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines (Php 2.3 billion), Ayala Corporation (Php 1.0 billion) and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (Php 2.0 billion). It rated its first bond issue, the Bases Conversion Development Authority’s Php 2.0 billion offering, in 2001.

The BSP recognition came in 2003, when PhilRatings became the first local credit rating agency recognized for bank supervisory purposes, and the SEC approved its accreditation in 2004. The firm records its largest rated bond issue to date as San Miguel Brewery, Inc.’s Php 38.8 billion bond issue in 2009, and its first shelf registration rating as Ayala Land’s three-year 2016 Debt Securities Program of up to Php 50 billion. It rated its first ASEAN Green Bond, Arthaland Corporation’s Php 3.0 billion issue, in 2019; the Philippines’ first real estate investment trust, AREIT, Inc., in 2020; its first project finance transaction, Solar Philippines Tarlac Corporation’s proposed project bonds of up to Php 4.15 billion, in 2021; and its first sustainability-linked bonds and first blue bonds in 2024.

Earlier ASEAN Investment

The PhilRatings agreement follows an earlier minority investment by Moody’s in the region. On August 11, 2020, Moody’s announced that it had acquired a minority stake in Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC), a credit rating agency serving the Malaysian domestic bond and sukuk markets. Based in Kuala Lumpur, MARC covers corporates and financial institutions, with key strengths in infrastructure and project finance, and also provides economic and fixed-income research, credit risk solutions, sustainability-linked offerings and finance-related online training programs.

Under that arrangement, MARC continued to operate as an independent entity and remained separate from Moody’s Investors Service and its credit rating processes and activities. Moody’s said at the time that the MARC investment was funded with cash on hand and was not expected to have a material effect on its 2020 financial results.