Moody's downgrades M'sian sovereign rating to stable

Kuala Lumpur

MOODY'S Investors Services has downgraded the outlook of Malaysia's issued and unsecured bonds to stable from positive but affirmed its A3 rating in a move analysts said was in line with consensus given the tough external challenges ahead.

Key drivers for the outlook revision were the deterioration in Malaysia's growth and external credit metrics brought about by outside pressures, high system-wide leverage and its expectations that fiscal consolidation improvements would be limited, the international ratings agency said.