press release
RAM Ratings assigns P1 rating to Sabah Credit Corporation’s proposed Islamic CP
22 Mar 2021 | Monday source: RAM Ratings

RAM Ratings has assigned a short-term rating of P1 to Sabah Credit Corporation’s (SCC or the Corporation) proposed RM1.75 bil Islamic Commercial Papers Programme. Concurrently, we have reaffirmed the AA1/Stable/P1 ratings of SCC’s outstanding sukuk instruments (see table below). The reaffirmation is premised on our expectation of ready financial support from the Sabah state government – which wholly owns SCC – if required.
As at end-September 2020, SCC’s gross impaired financing (GIF) ratio was a higher 4.3% (end-December 2019: 3.1%), largely due to a three-month deferment of repayments on personal financing granted to state civil servants. Unlike banks, financing from SCC placed under moratorium remains subject to the three-stage provisioning model of Malaysian Financial Reporting Standard 9. This caused an uptick in impaired financing, mainly attributable to facilities already one or two months in arrears before the payment holiday took effect. Excluding financing facilities under moratorium that had become impaired for this technical reason but have since resumed normal payment, SCC’s GIF ratio would have been a lower 3.7%.
We anticipate further asset quality slippages to be contained, supported by non-discretionary direct salary deductions of its civil servant-centric personal financing base, where the degree of job security is high. The Corporation’s profitability and gearing levels remain comfortable. Its annualised return on assets came in at 3.2% in 1H FY Dec 2020 (FY Dec 2019 3.2%) while gearing as at end-June 2020 was 3.5 times (end-December 2019: 3.7 times).
SCC’s issue ratings
- RM1.75 billion Islamic Commercial Papers Programme (2014/2021) and RM3.5 billion Islamic Medium-Term Notes Programme (2014/2039)* [AA1/Stable/P1]
- RM1 billion Islamic Medium-Term Notes Programme (2011/2031) [AA1/Stable]
- Proposed RM1.75 billion Islamic Commercial Papers Programme [P1]
Analytical contact
Jeremy Noel Paul
(603) 3385 2556
jeremynp@ram.com.my
Media contact
Padthma Subbiah
(603) 3385 2577
padthma@ram.com.my
Date of release: 19 March 2021
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Published by RAM Rating Services Berhad
Copyright 2021 by RAM Rating Services Berhad
Copyright 2021 by RAM Rating Services Berhad