Fitch rates CGNPC notes A

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a final rating of A to CGNPC International Ltd.’s $600 million 4% senior unsecured notes due 2025, which are guaranteed by its 100% owner China General Nuclear Power Corp.

The final rating follows the receipt of documents conforming to information already received and it is in line with the expected rating assigned May 5, Fitch said.

The parent company’s A+ issuer default ratings are equalized with the China sovereign in line with the agency’s criteria. This reflects the company’s strategic importance to the state, Fitch said, and the substantial tangible support it has consistently received from the state.

The senior unsecured notes are rated a notch lower than the company’s issuer default rating because of its significant secured debt with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 6.4x in 2014, the agency said.

The company is China’s top nuclear power operator by both operational and pipeline nuclear power capacity, Fitch said, and one of only three companies designated by the central government to operate nuclear power plants in China.

It is of strategic importance to the state because nuclear power is crucial to China’s efforts to mitigate air pollution while optimizing the mix of power-generation sources, the agency added.

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