Malaysian Rating

What Malaysian Rating does

Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) is an independent, privately held domestic credit rating agency headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, established in 1996 to serve the Malaysian capital markets. The company delivers independent credit ratings, default studies, and rating-transition research on issuers of commercial paper, bonds, sukuk, and other debt instruments, alongside economic and fixed-income analysis targeted at corporations, government entities, and institutional investors. MARC operates through four wholly-owned subsidiaries: MARC Ratings (core credit ratings and methodology), MARC Solutions (sustainability and ESG-related assessments including Gold Impact Assessments), MARC Data (bond market data and credit analytics), and MARC Learning (professional development programs for capital market participants).

MARC's core technology and product surface is anchored by proprietary rating methodologies, structured rating symbols and definitions, and a regulatory process for rating corporations, financial institutions, sub-sovereigns, and structured finance instruments. The MARC Data subsidiary provides a bond market data and fixed-income analytics platform, while MARC Online serves as the owned subscription portal distributing ratings, research, and market intelligence. The firm publishes regular rating announcements, research reports, monthly economic views, default and transition studies, and sustainability assessments, supported by an active content marketing and event-driven GTM (MARC360 webinars, Malaysian Bond and Sukuk Conference, SAREC). MARC Solutions extends the franchise into green and sustainable finance frameworks and Gold Impact Assessments, addressing growing ESG-aligned issuance demand.

The business model combines one-time fees for credit rating engagements with recurring subscription revenue through MARC Online, professional services revenue from MARC Learning programs and analytics consulting, and fee-based sustainability assessments. GTM is primarily sales-led and event-driven, targeting institutional capital market participants in Malaysia; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with annual billing cadence across subscription tiers. The 2020 equity-linked transaction with Moody's Investors Service deepened institutional alignment with a global rating agency, and the firm convenes the annual Lead Managers' League Table Awards to reinforce its position as the primary Malaysian bond and sukuk market rating body.

Name

Malaysian Rating

Legal name

Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad

Website

https://marc.com.my

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) is an independent Kuala Lumpur-based credit rating agency, established 1996, providing credit ratings, economic and fixed-income research, sustainability assessments, data analytics, and learning programs to Malaysian capital market issuers, government entities, and institutional investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Rating Services

SIC

Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Structured Finance Ratings & Surveillance (FSACACAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG Reporting, Disclosure & Regulatory Compliance (SFDR, EU Taxonomy, TCFD/ISSB) (FSAAALAK)

Keywords

• Credit rating services
• Bond ratings
• Sovereign credit ratings
• Fixed-income research
• Sukuk ratings

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuala Lumpur

HQ country

Malaysia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Credit Ratings Services: Fee-based credit ratings and related assessments for corporate issuers, financial institutions, and government entities.
2. Subscription Services: Subscription-based access to ratings data, research reports, economic analysis, and market intelligence.
3. Learning Programmes: Customized training and development programmes for capital market participants.
4. Data Analytics and Consulting: Analytics consulting services and data analytics offerings for market participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) is an independent Malaysian credit rating agency that issues credit ratings and related assessments on issuers of commercial papers, bonds, long- and short-term debts, sukuk, and preferred shares. The company also provides economic and fixed-income research, sustainability-related assessments (including green and sustainable finance framework evaluations), debt advisory, data analytics, credit reporting, and learning programmes for capital market professionals.

Product overview

MARC offers a portfolio of credit rating, data, and professional services through its four subsidiaries: MARC Ratings provides credit ratings and assessments; MARC Solutions offers sustainability-related assessments including green finance evaluations; MARC Data delivers bond market analytics and data services; and MARC Learning provides professional education programmes. The services are accessible through the MARC Online subscription portal and include credit ratings, economic research, fixed-income analysis, debt advisory, and learning programmes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credit Ratings & Related Assessments Core credit rating services covering corporate issuers, financial institutions, structured finance instruments, sub-sovereign entities, sukuk programmes, and commercial papers. Provides independent evaluation of creditworthiness for entities and debt instruments accessing the Malaysian capital markets.
• Sustainability-Related Assessments Assessments for green bonds, sustainable finance frameworks, and ESG-related evaluations including Gold Impact Assessments for green finance instruments. Targets issuers seeking independent validation of sustainability-linked debt instruments.
• Economic & Fixed-Income Analysis Monthly reviews and research covering global and domestic economic conditions, interest rates, inflation, and fixed-income market developments. Supports investment decision-making by institutional market participants.
• Sustainability-Related Advisory Advisory services related to sustainability and green/sustainable finance, supporting issuers in structuring sustainability-linked instruments and frameworks.
• Debt Advisory Corporate debt restructuring advisory services and debt issuance structuring guidance for Malaysian capital market participants.
• Analytics Consulting Services Consulting services for data analytics, risk management solutions, and analytical insights tailored for capital market participants.
• Subscriptions Subscription-based access to ratings database, research reports, economic analysis, and market intelligence through the MARC Online portal for institutional clients.
• Data Analytics Bond market data, fixed-income analytics, and credit-related information delivered through the MARC Data subsidiary for market participants.
• Credit Reporting Credit information reporting services including list of defaults, credit ratings published, and rating watch reports.
• Learning Programmes Customized training courses and professional development programmes for capital market professionals, delivered through the MARC Learning subsidiary.

Quantifiable outcome

• MARC Ratings-assigned Pulau Indah Power Plant sukuk was named The Asset Triple A Power Deal of the Year (Malaysia)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Qhazanah SabahcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2025MARC collaborated with Qhazanah Sabah to organize the Sabah Renewable Energy Conference 2025 (SAREC 2025) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The conference served as a platform for knowledge sharing and networking between policymakers, financial sector players, industry leaders, and key stakeholders for the Renewable Energy market in Sabah.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• China Chengxin International Credit Rating (CCXI): CCXI is a leading domestic Chinese rating agency increasingly participating in Belt-and-Road and ASEAN-linked financings, making it an adjacent emerging competitor in regional cross-border issuance work.
• Dagong Global Credit Rating: Dagong is a China-origin credit rating agency that has expanded into Southeast Asia, making it an emerging regional competitor for cross-border Chinese-Malaysian issuance that MARC would otherwise anchor.
• Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA): KBRA is a US-based non-bank rating agency that has expanded into structured finance and asset-backed securities — directly overlapping with the structured-finance rating work that MARC's MARC Ratings subsidiary performs in Malaysia.
• Egan-Jones Ratings Company: Egan-Jones is a smaller US-based NRSRO that has expanded internationally, representing an emerging alternative credit-rating model that could compete for Malaysian issuers seeking second-opinion or non-big-three ratings.

Broad incumbents

• Fitch Ratings: Fitch Ratings is another top-three global rating agency actively rating Malaysian banks, corporates, and sukuk issuances, and represents a comparable global benchmark for the type of credit-rating franchise MARC operates in Malaysia.
• S&P Global Ratings: S&P Global Ratings is a top-three global rating agency that competes with MARC for Malaysian corporate, financial-institution, and structured-finance mandates, particularly on cross-border and sukuk deals requiring international recognition.
• Moody's Investors Service: Moody's is the largest global credit rating agency, an investor in MARC since 2020, and a direct competitor on Malaysian and cross-border issuers. The relationship creates both competitive overlap and a strategic linkage that materially shapes MARC's positioning.

Direct peers

• RAM Holdings Berhad: RAM is the other Malaysia-licensed Domestic Credit Rating Agency, offering corporate, structured-finance, and sovereign ratings across Malaysian capital markets — the most direct competitor to MARC for mandated local ratings and sukuk assessments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MARCratings
• Facebookfacebook.com/MARCratings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/malaysian-rating-corporation-berhad

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Malaysian Rating