These agencies must be able to compile the necessary information to help investors assess credit risk and pricing spreads of corporate bonds. The rating standards of global agencies currently focus primarily on country risk. But they are less appropriate for evaluating the specific creditworthiness of particular firms in EMEs, which is a key ingredient for the development of corporate bond markets.
There is an ongoing debate, especially in Asia, on whether a regional credit rating agency is superior to local credit rating agencies, even if the latter used regional standards for their ratings.