Link to Fitch Ratings' Report: APAC Sovereigns Chart of the Month - Feb 2016https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=877447

Fitch Ratings says structural factors - including low per capita income, weak governance indicators, and high political risks - weigh on the ratings of Asia frontier sovereigns, even though they exhibit some of the strongest GDP growth rates globally in recent years.

Public debt across many of these countries has also increased since 2011, particularly in Mongolia and Vietnam. Commodity dependence is generally lower across Asia frontier sovereigns compared with peers in other regions, which in part reflects economic models focused on the export of garments and other labour-intensive manufactured goods.

Asia frontier sovereigns rated by Fitch include Bangladesh (BB-/Stable), Mongolia (B/Stable), Pakistan (B/Stable), Sri Lanka (BB-/Stable), and Vietnam (BB-/Stable).

The February edition of "Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Chart of the Month" is available at www.fitchratings.com or by clicking on the link in this media release.

Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

Fitch RatingsAndrew Fennell, +852 2263 9925Associate DirectorFitch (Hong Kong) Limited19/F Man Yee Building68 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong KongorAndrew Colquhoun, +852 2263 9938Head of Asia-Pacific SovereignsorMedia Relations, Hong KongWai-Lun Wan, +852 2263 9935wailun.wan@fitchratings.com