MRT III notes gets upgrade

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Rating Services Corp. has upgraded its issue rating for MRT III Funding Corp.’s asset backed-notes a notch due to the established regularity in the remittance of equity rental payments by the government. The issue rating was upgraded to PRS A for Tranche 2-E and PRS A minus for Tranches 2-F, 2-G and Tranche 3.  The rating takes into account the highly reduced uncertainties regarding future principal payments of these tranches.  The notes are due 2013, 2014 and 2025. The asset-backed notes issue is a securitization of future dividends from Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), which flow through a series of holding companies and special purpose vehicles, to MRT III Funding Corp., the issuer of the notes.  The dividends arise from equity rental payments (ERPs) made by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to MRTC under a 25-year build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement for the construction of the Light Rail Transit System, Phase 1 in Metro Manila.