Singapore, February 01, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned an A3 senior unsecured rating to
the HKD713 million notes issued by CMT MTN Pte. Ltd. under
its existing multicurrency medium-term note (MTN) program,
which is also rated (P)A3. CMT MTN Pte. Ltd. is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust
(CICT, A3 negative). The notes are guaranteed by HSBC Institutional
Trust Services (Singapore) Limited in its capacity as trustee of CICT.
The notes have a fixed coupon rate of 2.53% per annum and
mature on 1 February 2033.
CICT's A3 issuer rating reflects its (1) large scale and market position
as the second largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in APAC,
(2) diversified and balanced portfolio covering integrated developments,
retail and office assets; and (3) strong and stable income from its
assets, which have a diversified tenant base and consistently high
occupancy rates.
The outlook on the rating is negative.
CICT will use the proceeds from the notes to refinance its existing borrowings
and that of its subsidiaries and for general corporate and working capital
purposes.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The rating also incorporates Moody's expectation that CICT's
credit metrics will weaken following its recently completed merger with
CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT, Baa1 stable), given the
latter's higher leverage as well as the approximate SGD1 billion
in incremental debt needed to fund the merger's cash consideration.
Moody's expects CICT will reduce its leverage to levels more appropriate
for its current rating over the next 12 to 18 months. In absence
of such debt reduction, Moody's estimates CICT's adjusted
net debt/EBITDA will remain elevated at around 10.0x in 2021 despite
taking into account the full-year of income generated from the
assets transferred from CCT.
The negative outlook reflects the uncertainty surrounding (1) the extent
of the impact from coronavirus-related disruptions on the earnings
and performance of CICT's retail properties; and (2) CICT's
long-term financial policy and business strategy following its
merger with CCT.
CICT's liquidity profile is inadequate. At 31 December 2020,
the trust's cash and undrawn committed facilities were insufficient to
cover its SGD1.78 billion of debt maturities over the next 12-18
months. Nonetheless, Moody's expects CICT will improve its
liquidity profile over the next few months. The refinancing risk
is mitigated by the trust's track record of access to funding and established
banking relationships, as well as by its financially strong and
committed sponsor, CapitaLand Limited, a Temasek Holdings
(Private) Limited (Aaa stable) linked entity.
In terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors,
Moody's has considered the governance risk stemming from related-party
transactions between CICT and its sponsor, CapitaLand Limited.
This risk is mitigated by the regulatory oversight provided by the Monetary
Authority of Singapore and exercised through the board, which for
the majority consists of independent directors. Further,
there is an alignment of interest between CICT and its sponsor because
the latter has a 28.89% stake in the trust.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATING
Given the negative outlook, an upgrade is unlikely. However,
the outlook could return to stable if (1) the operating environment improves
significantly over the next 12 months; (2) CICT improves its credit
metrics, such that its adjusted debt/total deposited assets remains
below 45% and adjusted net debt/EBITDA falls below 8.5x,
both on a sustained basis; and (3) the trust improves its liquidity
position, such that its cash and committed credit facilities are
sufficient to cover its debt maturities over the next 12 months.
The rating could be downgraded if (1) the operating environment deteriorates,
leading to higher vacancy levels and a decline in operating cash flow
or a fall in asset valuations; (2) the trust fails to maintain a
well-managed debt maturity profile; or (3) the credit metrics
of the trust weaken, such that its adjusted debt/total deposited
assets exceeds 45%, adjusted net debt/EBITDA remains above
8.5x, or adjusted EBITDA/interest coverage falls below 3.0x.
In addition, any material change to CICT's business risk profile
from acquisitions and/or expansion into higher risk jurisdictions could
also pressure the trust's rating.
The principal methodology used in this rating was REITs and Other Commercial
Real Estate Firms published in September 2018 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1095505.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) is the second largest REIT
in the Asia Pacific region, with a total portfolio property value
of around SGD22.3 billion and market capitalization of around SGD14.0
billion as of 31 December 2020. The trust was listed on the Singapore
Stock Exchange in 2002. The trust has a portfolio of 24 retail,
office and integrated developments in Singapore and overseas.
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)
and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
This rating is solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy
for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on
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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_1243406.
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.
Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's
office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.
The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was
issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed
by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square,
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Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
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Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
Junling Tan
Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Vikas Halan
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
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Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077