November 16, 2011

May, 2011

March, 2011

March 04, 2011

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) plans to increase its stake in Small and Medium Enterprises Rating Agency (SMERA), the agency which obtained accred­itation from Sebi last week to operate as a fullfledged ratings agency. At present, Dun & Bradstreet - the global infor­mation services company - holds 34% stake in Small Industries Development Bank of India, or Sidbipromoted SMERA, which rates instru­ments of small and medium sized companies.

Sarah Mathew, chairman and chief executive officer of the global parent D&B, told ET: "We will be open to in­creasing our stake. There is an absolute intent to increase as long as the government (read Sidbi) is happy to let us do so." SMERA will be the sixth en­trant in the credit rating space apart from Crisil, Care, Fitch ratings, Icra and Brickwork Ratings India. SMERA will initially focus on rating small companies, where it already has the expertise.

Parag Patki, CEO, SMERA, said: "We will be very selective in choosing which instrument we would rate. We will concen­trate on our niche area, namely SME ratings and midsized companies, and then slowly move to rating instruments of larger companies."

"We are going to build it into a full service rating agency with whatever investment is required. D&B is committing to the investment with the partnership with the govern­ment to take it up to where it is required," said Kaushal Sampat, D&B India president and CEO.

March 04, 2011

Mumbai, March 3 SME Rating Agency of India Ltd, the dedicated rating agency for the micro, small and medium enterprises sec­tor in India, has been regis­tered under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Credit Rating Agencies) Reg­ulations, 1999, said a press re­lease issued by SMERA.

SMERA is the first and only rating agency in the MSME space that is dedicated to in­crease the credit flow to the MSME sector. The Mumbai-based agency was incorporat­ed in August 2005 and is pro­moted by SIDBI, Dun & Bradstreet and other leading banks in India.

The SEBI registration makes SMERA the sixth rat­ing agency in India to rate is­sues related to capital market. The development has paved way for SMERA to rate the capital market instruments, such as, IPO, bonds, commer­cial papers, security receipts and others, the release said.

March 04, 2011

March 04, 2011

March 04, 2011

March 04, 2011

SME Rating Agency of India (SMERA) has been registered under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 1999.

SMERA is a dedicated ratings agency for the MSME sector in India and is the first and only ratings agency in the MSME space that is dedicated to increasing credit flow to the MSME sector, a press release issued here today stated.

The Mumbai-based agency was incorporated in August, 2005, and is promoted by SIDBI, Dun & Bradstreet and other leading banks in India. The Sebi registration makes SMERA the sixth ratings agency in India to rate issues related to the capital market.

Sebi registration paves the way for SMERA to rate capital market instruments such as IPOs, bonds, commercial papers, security receipts, among others, the release said, adding that the Sebi registration gives SMERA higher credibility and acceptance in the market.

SMERA CEO Parag Patki said, "SMERA is committed to improve the rating penetration in the country for the systematic development of the capital market. SMERA Ratings would assist the Indian investors in making suitable investment decisions for their risk profile."

SMERA has been set up by SIDBI in association with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and leading public and private sector banks and is the country's first ratings agency focused primarily on the Indian MSME segment.

Its primary objective is to provide ratings that are comprehensive, transparent and reliable. This would facilitate greater and easier flow of credit from the banking sector to MSMEs.

March 04, 2011

April 14, 2010

Mumbai: SME Rating Agency of India has launched Green Rating a Product aimed at Encouraging investments in clean and energy efficient technologies in micro small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) Firms are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 and toprated firms will get concessional interest rates on loans from SIDBI. The first such rating was released by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday.

April 12, 2010

Reduction in GHGs emission and energy conservation is the new mantra to reduce the adverse effect of global warming. Considering the rapid climatic changes experienced globally in the recent past, various Government initiatives are underway to reduce the carbon emission in the atmosphere.

One such initiative "Green Rating" was launched by the SME Rating Agency of India Ltd. (SMERA), recently, during a function arranged to celebrate SIDBI’s 20th Foundation Day. Hon’ble Union Finance Minister Padma Vibhushan Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the first Green Rating Certificate to M/s Ultimate Alloys Coimbatore.

Speaking at the event, Hon. Finance Minister stated that "The launching of "Green Ratings" by SIDBI, through its Associate SME Rating Agency of India (SMERA), is truly an innovative initiative to sensitize MSMEs on the importance of becoming environmentally friendly and energy efficient. We all know about the
adverse impact of global warming and climate change. MSMEs owing to their sheer size and number, can be a positive catalyst in our battle against climate change. I would urge all the Banks and Financial Institutions to encourage their MSME clients to go in for Green Ratings"

Shri R M Malla, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI, stated that "Green Ratings from SMERA would enable SIDBI and other lenders to offer preferential
interest rate to well rated SMERA Green units there by promoting investment in
clean and energy efficient technologies in MSMEs

SIDBI has also launched a pilot scheme wherein units obtaining SMERAGreen Rating 1 & 2 would be eligible for interest rate concession of 50 bps and units obtaining rating of SMERAGreen Rating 3 would be eligible for interest rate concession of 25 bps.

Mr. Parag Patki, CEO, SMERA, mentioned that "SMERA has kick started this initiative in the steel sector and will continue its journey in assigning Green Ratings to newer sectors that are energy intensive. He further added that the rating process will be utilized as a tool to sensitize the Micro and Small enterprises in the country on the risk associated in continuing with their existing processes and technologies and importance of adopting energy efficient technologies from changing environmental compliance as well as energy efficiency perspective".

SMERA’sGreen Rating is an independent, third party comprehensive measure of units’ sensitivity towards environment and the affirmative action adopted by the unit to reduce energy consumption and emission. The rating methodology would include submission of data by the applicant followed by the site visit and interaction with management. The final rating assessment is undertaken by a committee comprising of external experts and on its finalization, the rating will be disseminated to the applicant.

The SMERAGreen Rating is on a scale of 15, wherein "SMERAGreen Rating 1" is the top most rating denoting the unit’s efficient usage of energy with minimal emission of GHG and adoption of processes to control air, water, and land pollution. "SMERAGreen Rating 5" indicates lowest grade on scale of 15 with the unit’s inefficient usage of energy due to its existing processes and technology causing severe damage to the environment.

About SMERA:

SME Rating Agency of India Limited (SMERA), is a joint initiative of Small Industries Development Bank of India, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd. and leading public and private sector banks, which is presently offering enterprise ratings to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Ratings of Microfinance Institutions, Gradings of Greenfield & Brownfield Projects and Educational Institutions.

SMERA has completed ratings of over 6500 MSMEs since inception. SMERA has also signed MOUs with more than 26 banks and lending institutions.