Hong Kong, May 25, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A3 backed local currency
rating to Blue Bright Limited's USD-denominated senior unsecured
bonds guaranteed by AVIC Capital Co., Ltd. (A3 stable).
Blue Bright Limited, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands,
is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AVIC Capital.
The entity-level outlook on Blue Bright Limited is stable,
in line with the outlook on AVIC Capital.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The A3 senior unsecured rating of Blue Bright Limited is at the same level
as AVIC Capital's A3 issuer rating, because the bonds to be
issued are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by AVIC Capital.
The guarantor, AVIC Capital, has unconditionally and irrevocably
guaranteed the payment of all sums expressed to be payable by Blue Bright
Limited under the bonds. The guarantee on the bonds constitutes
a direct, general and unconditional obligation of AVIC Capital.
Obligations under the guarantee will at all times rank pari passu with
AVIC Capital's existing and future unsubordinated and unsecured
obligations. Moody's has therefore rated the proposed bonds at
A3, which is at the same level as AVIC Capital's issuer rating.
AVIC Capital's A3 long-term issuer rating incorporates the company's
(1) standalone assessment of ba2, and (2) a five-notch uplift
based on Moody's assumption of a high level of indirect support
from the Government of China (A1 stable) via its parent Aviation Industry
Co Ltd of China (AVIC Group) in times of stress, because of its
strategic role and important function within AVIC Group, and the
parent's strategic importance to the Chinese government.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
The proposed bonds are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by AVIC
Capital. Consequently, an upgrade of AVIC Capital's issuer
ratings would result in an upgrade of the note ratings.
Given that AVIC Capital's issuer ratings already incorporate five
notches of support uplift, an upgrade would require more explicit
support from AVIC Group or the Chinese government while the company maintains
its performance.
AVIC Capital's standalone assessment could be upgraded if it (1)
improves its asset quality by reducing the nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio
in its leasing business, (2) reduces the tenor mismatch between
its assets and liabilities, and (3) strengthens its capital relative
to its managed assets.
A downgrade of AVIC Capital's issuer ratings would also lead to a downgrade
of the bond rating.
AVIC Capital's ratings could be downgraded if there is (1) a weakening
in the support from its parent and the Chinese government, (2) a
decline in its business relationship with its parent, or (3) a significant
reduction in the parent's shareholding.
AVIC Capital's standalone assessment could be lowered if (1) its
asset quality deteriorates significantly and credit costs rise,
(2) its liquidity and funding profiles weaken materially, or (3)
capital levels decline.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Finance Companies
Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1187099.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
Headquartered in Beijing, AVIC Capital Co., Ltd.
reported assets of RMB342.9 billion at the end of March 2020.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of
debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures
in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the
same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant
to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing
ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings
issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain
regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the
support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action
for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's
credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement
provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional
rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may
be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each
case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior
to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have
affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings
tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s)
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Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social
and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed
by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt
am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph
3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies.
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for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating
and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving
this Credit Rating.
Sean Hung, CFA
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Yat Man Sally Yim, CFA
MD-Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077