Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings) has received written confirmation from Bank of New York Mellon (BoNY), trustee for the MRT III Funding Corporation Limited Asset-Backed Notes, that timely payment amounting to $30.97 million was made for the Tranche 2-B Notes.

PhilRatings said that it is presently reviewing its existing rating for the other Note tranches that will be maturing from 2010-2025. The next payment of $33.89 million will be due on August 8, 2010 for the zero-coupon Tranche 2-C of the Notes.

The country’s pioneer credit ratings agency said the due date for the MRT III Tranche 2-B Notes payment was August 7, 2009. Principal payments for Tranche 1 and 2-A which were due in 2007 and 2008, respectively, were similarly made on time.

PhilRatings also noted that as early as June 22, 2009, account balances with BoNY Mellon were already more than sufficient to cover the principal due on Tranche 2-B.

The Asset-Backed Notes issue is a securitization of future dividends from Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) which flow through a series of holding companies and special pose vehicles, to MRT III Funding Corporation, the Issuer of the Notes.

The dividends arise from equity rental payments 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 (LRTS Phase 1, or MRT) in Metro Manila.

The Asset-Backed Notes are currently rated PRS Baa minus which means that these exhibit adequate protection parameters. However, PRS Baa-rated issues may possess certain speculative characteristics. (JAL)