Fitch: ASEAN Coronavirus risks hinge on duration and policy response

The US-based rating agency, Fitch Ratings, said in its latest report, the ASEAN coronavirus risks hinge on duration and policy response.

Key Findings:

“Sovereigns in ASEAN have sufficient financial buffers to weather near-term impacts associated with novel coronavirus outbreak.

If the effects of coronavirus extend well beyond 1Q20, ratings vulnerabilities could emerge for some ASEAN sovereigns.

It does not anticipate near-term rating actions as a result of the outbreak for ASEAN countries.

So long as china's growth begins to recover quickly in the second half of 2020, economic disruption associated with COVID-19 is likely to be contained.”

• Moody's: Default risk rises for high-yield APAC corporates on slowing growth, trade policy uncertainty
• China’s NHC reports 5,090 new coronavirus cases for Thursday