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Noble responds to Moody’s junk status rating

In a horrid end to a very trying year Hong Kong’s Noble Group has been deemed junk status by a leading ratings agency.

Yesterday Moody’s, citing “concerns over the company’s liquidity”, cut its outlook on Noble, a company that lost more than 60% of its value on the Singapore Exchange this year, to Baa3.

Noble, Asia’s top commodities trader, has been hit by fierce critics from a number of analysts all year long.

Noble responded on Wednesday claiming in a release that the company was in good shape, especially once it offloads Noble Agri for $750m to China’s COFCO, and that the current environment is “opportunity rich and plays to our strengths”.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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