...Ratings Reflect Market Leadership: The ratings of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) are underpinned by its leading position in the Philippines' duopoly telecommunications market, where it captured a 56% market share in wireless services by revenue, and a 70% share of the fixed-line market by subscribers in 2015. Fitch Ratings expects the stable regulatory environment to support PLDT's operating EBITDAR margin at around 44% in 2016 (2015: 44.7%), wider than most its regional peers. Local-Currency IDR Headroom to Shrink: PLDT's funds flow from operation (FFO)-adjusted net leverage in 2016-2018 is likely to be 2.3x-2.5x (2015: 2.3x), within Fitch's 3.0x-net leverage guideline at which we may consider taking negative rating action on its Local-Currency IDR (LC IDR). However, Fitch believes PLDT's decision in May 2016 on a PHP70bn joint-acquisition of San Miguel Corporation's (SMC) telecommunications business with Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe, BBB-/Stable), on a 50-50 basis, could...
