By Tunde Oso

DataPro, the technology-driven Credit Rating Agency (CRA) has on Friday December 3, 2021 made live its Rating Watch Digital Platform.

This followed the launch of the digital platform during its highly successful webinar on Credit Rating Imperatives for Issuers and Investors jointly organized with the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) in October 2021.

According to the Chief Rating Officer of DataPro, Mr. Oladele Adeoye, the Rating Watch Digital Platform is expected to assist capital market stakeholders including regulators, institutional investors and other professionals in decision making and data gathering.

The rating platform is a web dashboard available on the company’s website that affords the members of the public a quick glance at the rating highlights of the corporate entities, bonds, funds, commercial paper and sub-nationals.

The platform also provides the rating trends of entities and instruments that have been rated by the company over a given period of time. In its forward-looking approach at deepening the debt market in Nigeria lately, DataPro has intensified efforts in promoting the value proposition of Credit Rating Agencies at driving market efficiency. It is expected that with more socialization and sensitization of the Nigerian public about the tremendous investment opportunities within the regulated capital market, the urge to patronize Ponzi Scheme and other illegal investment avenues will be greatly curtailed.

Meanwhile, DataPro CRA has returned Prima Corporation Limited with long-term rating of “A-” with a positive outlook for the year 2021/2022.

The “A-” indicates low risk. It shows very good financial strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standard established by DataPro. This company, in our opinion, has a strong ability to meet its ongoing obligations.

The DataPro rating committee approved the rating after assessment of the company’s financial performance, asset quality, liquidity, profitability, corporate governance and risk management, risk factors and future outlook of its current healthy profile in the medium to long-term period.

The rating of Prima Corporation Limited is supported by its strong business profile, good business support from its associate companies and good liquidity profile.

Prima Corporation Limited had a short-term rating of “A1” with good credit quality and satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

DataPro noted that the rating carries a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months, in line with international best practice. The rating is therefore not an offer to trade in securities nor a substitute for the user’s judgment. It is meant for reference purposes.