S&P lowers Ravnaq-bank view to stable

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the CCC long-term and C short-term counterparty credit ratings on Ravnaq-bank.

The agency also said it revised the bank’s outlook to stable from positive.

In 2014, the bank did not obtain the foreign-currency license or permission to open a new branch in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, S&P said.

The outlook revision largely reflects an opinion that the bank may face additional difficulties in achieving these targets, the agency said, and these plans were considered crucial for further development of the bank’s business position.

The ratings also consider the bank’s vulnerability to operating conditions in Uzbekistan, S&P added.

S&P lowers four Ukraine agribusiness companies

Standard & Poor’s said it lowered the long-term foreign-currency credit ratings on several Ukrainian agribusiness companies to CCC- from CCC.

The downgrade follows the Dec. 19th downgrade of Ukraine to CCC due to increased risk of default.

Creativ Group OJSC’s CCC- local- and foreign-currency corporate ratings reflect the long-term CCC- foreign-currency sovereign rating on Ukraine and its stand-alone credit profile is B due to its vulnerable business risk profile.

MHP SA’s CCC- local- and foreign-currency corporate ratings also reflect the long-term CCC- foreign currency sovereign rating on Ukraine and its stand-alone credit profile is B due to its vulnerable business risk profile.

Ukrainian Agrarian Investments SA’s CCC- local- and foreign-currency corporate ratings reflect the long-term CCC- foreign-currency sovereign rating and its stand-alone credit profile is B- due to its vulnerable business risk profile and substantial EBITDA decline in 2013, S&P said.

UkrLandFarming plc’s CCC- local- and foreign-currency corporate ratings reflect the CCC- foreign-currency rating on Ukraine and its stand-alone credit profile is B- due to its vulnerable business risk profile.

The outlook on all of the companies is negative.

S&P lifts Israel Discount Bank to positive view

Standard & Poor’s said it revised the outlook on Israel Discount Bank Ltd. to positive from stable.

The agency also said it affirmed the BBB- long-term and A-3 short-term counterparty credit ratings on the bank.

The outlook revision reflects a view that the bank’s capital position has sustainably improved in recent years, owing to lessening economic risks in Israel and the bank’s relatively low growth in risk assets with no dividend distributions, the agency said.

The bank’s capital position is further supported by the planned sale of its minority interest in FIBI, Israel’s fifth-largest bank, S&P said.

S&P: CAToil on negative watch

Standard & Poor’s said it placed the BB long-term corporate credit rating and ruAA Russia national scale rating on C.A.T. oil AG (CAToil) on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The CreditWatch placement reflects a view that the potential acquisition of CAToil by Joma Industrial Source Corp. could lead to deterioration in CAToil’s credit metrics, driven by a potentially more aggressive capital structure and growth strategy, S&P said.

The potential acquirer’s future strategy for CAToil remains uncertain at this stage, the agency said, but could involve a more aggressive growth strategy, potentially in new markets.

S&P: Kaisa on negative watch

Standard & Poor’s said it placed the BB- long-term corporate credit rating and cnBB+ long-term Greater China regional scale rating on Kaisa Property Holdings Ltd. on CreditWatch with negative implications.

S&P also said it placed the BB- long-term issue rating and cnBB+ long-term Greater China regional scale rating on the company’s outstanding senior unsecured notes on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The agency said it placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications to reflect risks that Kaisa’s sales prospects and financing capabilities could weaken in 2015 following government restrictions on the company’s sales in Shenzhen.

There is still no visibility on when the Shenzhen local government will lift its restrictions on Kaisa’s sales in several projects in the city. The reasons behind the restrictions also remain unclear, S&P said.

Moody’s revises Matahari to positive

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed PT Matahari Putra Prima Tbk.'s B2 corporate family rating.

At the same time, the agency changed the outlook on the rating to positive from stable.

"The change in outlook to positive reflects Matahari's continued solid operating performance and cash flow generation over the last year which has reduced its absolute reported debt levels. It has maintained its adjusted debt-to-EBITDA below 4.0x-4.5x over the last several quarters, and we expect that it will keep its leverage at or below this level through 2015," Moody's vice president and senior analyst Annalisa Di Chiara said in a news release.

Fitch rates Kaztel tranche BB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an expected international rating of BB and national rating of A(kaz) to Kazakhtelecom JSC’s (Kaztel) proposed 90 billion in Kazakhstani tenge bond program, including the first 21 billion Kazakhstan tenge tranche.

The notes are structured as senior unsecured obligations of Kaztel. The first tranche of the notes will have a five-year maturity, Fitch said.

The bonds are rated at the same level as Kaztel’s long-term local-currency issuer default rating of BB and national long-term rating of A(kaz) as they represent direct, senior and unconditional obligations of the company.

The company also has a short-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of B, along with BB rating on its foreign-currency senior unsecured debt and A(kaz) rating on its local-currency senior unsecured debt.

Kaztel is a strong fixed-line incumbent in Kazakhstan with a near monopoly position in the traditional telephony and high-broadband market share operating in a benign regulatory environment, Fitch said.

The proceeds are planned to be used primarily for refinancing and investments, including in on-going LTE network rollout, the agency said.

The segment’s revenue growth, however, is likely to lag subscriber additions as we expect the company’s currently inflated tariffs to remain under regulatory and competitive pressure in key cities, Fitch said.

S&P rates Magadan bond BB-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a BB- long-term global scale rating and ruAA- Russia national scale rating to the RUB 1 billion four-year amortizing senior unsecured bond to be issued by Russia’s Magadan Oblast by year-end 2014.

The ratings on the bond mirror those on the oblast, S&P said.

The bond will have fixed-rate coupons and an amortizing repayment schedule.

According to the planned redemption schedule, 30% of the bond is to be repaid in 2016, 30% in 2017 and the remaining 40% in 2018, the agency said.

The ratings are constrained by Russia’s volatile and unbalanced institutional framework, which contributes to Magadan’s very weak budgetary flexibility, S&P said.

Owing to these system constraints, the agency said it views Magadan’s financial management as weak in an international context, mirroring that of most Russian local and regional governments.

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