KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd's plan to list its plantation and property businesses could lead to a weaker credit profile, according to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's said that at the same time, it has placed on review for downgrade the (P)Baa1 rating on the senior unsecured medium-term note programme of SDG. Moody's vice president and senior analyst, Jacintha Poh, said while there is no clarity on how the plan will be implemented, she believes the listing of Sime Darby's plantation and property businesses will lead to reduced diversification, scale and cash flows, and therefore a weaker credit profile. Moody's said the review for downgrade will assess the specifics of the transaction, once the details of Sime Darby's plans are available. At 12.30pm, Sime Darby rose 2 sen or 0.22% to RM9.06, with 3.38 million shares traded.

Source: The Edge Markets February 03, 2017 06:33 UTC