12 June 2008, Almaty (14.00 Kazakhstani Press Club, 58, Samal-2, 1-st entrance, 2-nd floor). RFCA Rating Agency signed agreement of strategic partnership with the Rating Agency of Malaysia (RAM). As part of this agreement RAM Holdings acquires 15% stake of RA RFCA, announced senior representatives of these agencies at the special press-conference in the Kazakhstan Press-Club.

JSC RFCA Rating Agency is the National Rating Agency aimed to further develop securities market in Kazakhstan and specifically designed to ensure independent objective and credible assessments.

JSC RFCA Rating Agency decided to sell its shares to foreign investor - «RAM Holdings» - with the aim to attract strategic partner with a profound experience in rating assessment and developing most efficient methodology for the emerging economies as well as experience in raising level of managerial skills and strategic development planning.

International experience shows that shareholding structure of rating agencies is very diverse in terms of number of shareholders with one of them being the strategic partner in further development.

This model of establishing and developing of rating agencies implies independent and dynamic development of companies considering international experience of rating assessments.

"We think the establishment of the independent rating agency RFCA in the Central Asia will contribute to the development of the native stock exchange market without any doubts. We hope in future our agency will function abroad”, stated in her speech Aigul Tasbolat, Chairman of the Board, JSC Rating Agency of the Regional Financial Center of Almaty City"
Information for the Editors

In addition to credit assessment of businesses, major goals of the RFCA Rating Agency are as follows:

– Efforts to further development of transparent and efficient market environment
– Development of self-regulated market mechanisms and lowering credit risks
– Credit rating of firms, banks, insurance companies, municipal authirities, medium and small enterprises based on specially designed system of credit risk assessment in the Central Asian markets;
– Credit rating of borrower’s individual debt liabilities (bonds, loans) according to the national scale;
– Indication of issued credit ratings;
– Overall economical review of industries including operative information on general results of an industry’s performance and, in particular, its major companies’ performance; indentification of an industry’s development trend, internal and external product market conditions; analysis of data based on an industry’s financial indicators.
– Analysis of enterprises’ performance, including data of production and financial parameters for reported periods; strategic development programs and business activity plans as well as fundamental analysis of companies’ financial performance and their place within the industry; corporate management expertise;
– Development and appraisal of business plans, feasibility studies, technical translation, researches under individual orders;
– conferences, seminars and forums on various issues and providing training courses.

Information on RАМ
The Rating Agency of Malaysia RAM Holdings Berhad is the main Malaysian agency to evaluate solvency, which was registered in November 1990, with paid-in capital of 10 millions RM. This marked an important milestone in the history of development of the Malaysian capital market and, especially, corporate bond market.
In order to enhance transparency and trust, in May 1991 the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM, Central Bank of Malaysia) declared corporate bond evaluation to be mandatory. On the other hand, since January 1993 evaluation of financial institutions started being carried out on voluntary basis. These initiatives were part of the Government and BNM efforts with purposes of acceleration of the national corporate bond market development as more attractive and less expensive alternative instead of banking system.
RAM Holdings embodies the government’s intentions to place a “missing agency” as a link in development of the Malaysian capital market. RAM Holdings is a public company with limited liability consisted of 32 shareholders including two foreign entities. Without specific shareholder to have majority share the senior management team mainly determines operating activity and business processes. This enables RAM Holdings to maintain independence and reliability with respect of decisions on solvency evaluation being adopted.
In comparatively short period since establishment date RAM Holdings have evaluated almost 700 ratings. The achievement was appreciated by the Asian Development Bank in its statement at Finance Ministers’ meeting held in April of 1997, when RAM Holdings was elected as a chief internal agency for rating in APEC area.
Reflecting leading sectors of the economy, the base rests on firms in developing the infrastructure, financial services, property and construction as well as in production. One of the unique achievements of RAM Holdings is experience in evaluation of infrastructure project financing and also in evaluation of securities secured by assets. Islamic debt instruments as well remain as one of the strengths of RAM Holdings.