Fitch cuts China SCE

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded China SCE Group Holdings Ltd.'s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to B+ from BB-. The agency also trimmed China SCE's senior unsecured rating and the ratings on its U.S.-dollar senior unsecured notes to B+ with an RR4 recovery rating from BB-.

Fitch said it removed all the ratings from under criteria observation, on which they were placed on Oct. 20, following the publication of its updated corporate rating criteria. The outlook is stable.

“The downgrade reflects China SCE's weakened financial flexibility amid capital-market volatility and a slowdown in contracted sales. We expect China SCE to utilize its cash on hand to repay its maturing capital-market debt, which could affect its business profile. Its financial structure is also closer to B+ rated peers, as lower leverage is offset by relatively high exposure to joint ventures (JVs) and non-controlling interests (NCIs),” Fitch said in a press release.

The outlook reflects the view that China SCE has adequate liquidity to address its capital-market maturities, which are well spread out.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.