Moody's withdraws credit rating for Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust for 'business reasons'

CREDIT rating agency, Moody's Investors Service has withdrawn its "Ba1" rating for Singapore-listed real estate investment trust Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) for "its own business reasons".

Moody's did not elaborate on the exact nature of those reasons.

On March 7, Moody's sent LMIRT into junk territory by cutting its credit rating by one notch to "Ba1" from "Baa3" while retaining a negative outlook. The ratings agency citing the deteriorating credit quality of entities within the Lippo group that contribute about a third of LMIRT's revenue.

LMIRT is sponsored by Lippo Karawaci Tbk, which owns around 30 per cent of the trust. LMIRT is managed by LMIRT Management, while the trust's properties are managed by PT Lippo Malls Indonesia. LMIRT Management and PT Lippo Malls Indonesia are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lippo Karawaci.

Moody's has rated Lippo Karawaci "B1" with a negative outlook.

Listed on Singapore Exchange since 2007, LMIRT had a portfolio of 23 retail malls and seven retail spaces across major cities in Indonesia with a total appraised value of S$1.9 billion as at Dec 31, 2017.