New Delhi June 26 :    New Delhi June 26:  Icra is likely enter into a new licensing agreement with global credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service, to jointly venture into new and growing areas in the Indian market. Moody's is the single largest shareholder in Icra, with an equity holding of a little over 21 per cent in the company. An earlier agreement between Icra and Moody's was signed in 1999. Once the agreement is signed and regulatory approvals are obtained, Icra will be identified as an associate of Moody's Investors Service. The provisions of the earlier agreement called for technical assistance in credit analysis, credit research and credit training in India, which has a tremendous demand for such services. John Rutherfurd, president and CEO of Moody's Corporation, joined the Icra board of directors in October 2001. The two rating agencies have been moving beyond their technical services agreement to jointly venture into new and growing areas of the Indian market. They have recently published a co-branded report on the Indian mutual fund industry. Further collaborative initiatives in the areas of research and evaluation, particularly relating to the mutual fund industry are scheduled over the near term. Another important dimension in the continuing relationship with Moody's relates to the deputation of Icra analysts to various Moody's offices around the world, for on-the-job training in advanced rating techniques. Last year, Icra has ventured into areas such as corporate governance ratings, grading of construction and real estate entities, grading of healthcare institutions, and rating of mutual funds. Icra also recently started offering technical services to overseas institutions seeking to set up rating agencies in their respective home countries and will pick up stake in one or two such firms. Thus, its footprints are now visible in Nepal, Kuwait and some other countries in West Asia. The Delhi-based rating agency has already signed a pact with Oman and an arrangement with the UAE is in the pipeline, adds PTI. Icra managing director P. K. Choudhary said the agency will provide training and transfer knowledge for establishing rating outfits in these countries. Icra has assigned its first corporate governance (CG) rating to ITC Ltd. It assigned a 'CGR2' implying the rated company has adopted and follows such practices, conventions and codes as would provide its financial stakeholders a high level of assurance on the quality of corporate governance.