SingPower shrugs off downgrade by Fitch
Business Times, Saturday, 13 March 2004 SINGAPORE Power (SingPower) has dismissed the significance of a move by ratings agency Fitch to downgrade its rating outlook from "stable" to "negative".
In a statement on Wednesday, Fitch said the change in outlook on SingPower's senior unsecured foreign currency rating reflects its view that the probability of a downward rating change outweighs that of other possible rating developments in the next 18 months.
In response, SingPower said that Fitch was not an official ratings agency of the firm.
As such, when the ratings agency approached SingPower for information on which to base its outlook, it was unable to make a full disclosure as such data - including investment plans and financial projections - are commercially sensitive.
SingPower's official ratings agencies are Moody's and Standard and Poor's (S&P), agencies which therefore have access to SingPower's data.
Neither Moody's nor S&P has changed their outlooks, which remain as "stable".
Moreover, Fitch saw SingPower's drive towards a more leveraged capital structure, as exerting downward pressure on its outlook.
This drive, however, had already been completed in October last year, with SingPower's Power Assets global bond issue.
Fitch downgraded SingPower's ratings outlook on Wednesday. The firm's rating has been maintained at AA+.
Back to Newsclippings | To top
|
