Singapore, January 28, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B1 senior unsecured rating to
the proposed senior notes to be issued by LMIRT Capital Pte. Ltd.,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust
(LMIRT, B1 negative). The proposed notes are guaranteed by
Perpetual (Asia) Limited, in its capacity as trustee of LMIRT.
The proceeds from the notes will be used to refinance existing borrowings
of LMIRT and its subsidiaries and for general corporate and working capital
purposes.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The proposed USD bond issuance will reduce refinancing risk and lengthen
LMIRT's debt maturity profile," says Junling Tan, a
Moody's Analyst.
The rating on the proposed notes is aligned with LMIRT's B1 corporate
family rating, as the bond is not exposed to legal or structural
subordination risk. As of 30 September 2020, 100%
of LMIRT's total debt was unsecured, including the debt issued by
LMIRT Capital Pte. Ltd.
LMIRT's B1 rating incorporates its degree of independence as a publicly
listed and regulated trust in Singapore (Aaa stable) despite becoming
a subsidiary of its sponsor, Lippo Karawaci Tbk (P.T.)
(B3 stable) following the rights issuance. However, given
the linkages between LMIRT and Lippo Karawaci, LMIRT's rating
will remain constrained at no more than two notches above that of Lippo
Karawaci
LMIRT's negative outlook reflects uncertainty surrounding the impact from
the coronavirus-related disruptions on the earnings and performance
of LMIRT's properties. A delay in the operating environment
recovery leading to weaker performance of LMIRT's properties, could
result in a breach in financial covenants under the trust's bank loans
from the fourth quarter of 2021, which will weaken the trust's liquidity
profile.
Moody's estimates LMIRT's 2020 revenue to have declined 46% from
the previous year due to temporary mall closures and weaker demand for
retail space. Consequently, Moody's expects LMIRT's
adjusted net debt/EBITDA will weaken to around 10.7x in 2020 from
5.2x in 2019, and adjusted EBITDA/interest expense to around
1.3x from 3.0x over the same period. Based on Moody's
assumption of a gradual recovery in operating conditions, improving
occupancy rates in 2021 and the issuance of the proposed notes,
adjusted net debt/EBITDA and EBITDA/interest expense should strengthen
to around 7.5x and 1.7x, respectively, in 2021.
LMIRT's liquidity is adequate. As of 30 September 2020, the
trust had cash and cash equivalents of SGD123 million and USD75 million
(SGD102 million) in undrawn committed credit facilities, compared
to utilized revolving credit facilities of around SGD44 million and a
syndicated term loan of SGD175 million maturing in August 2021.
Moody's expects LMIRT will rely on external funding should the trust
decide to redeem its SGD140 million perpetual securities callable in September
2021.
In terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors,
Moody's has taken into consideration the governance risk stemming from
related-party transactions between LMIRT and the Lippo group of
companies. This risk is partially mitigated by the regulatory oversight
provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and exercised through
the board, which mostly consists of independent directors.
Furthermore, there is an alignment of interest between LMIRT and
its sponsor, Lippo Karawaci, because the latter has around
58% stake in the trust.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATING
Given the negative ratings outlook, an upgrade is unlikely over
the next 12-18 months. Nonetheless, the outlook could
return to stable if (1) improvements in the trust's operating performance
strengthen its credit metrics, such that adjusted net debt/EBITDA
falls below 7.0x-7.5x and adjusted EBITDA/interest
expense rises above 2.0x on a sustained basis; or (2) the
trust maintains good liquidity and a well-distributed debt maturity
profile.
On the other hand, LMIRT's ratings could be downgraded if (1) the
operating environment fails to recover or deteriorates further,
leading to higher vacancy levels and declining operating cash flows or
falling asset valuations; (2) the trust's credit metrics fails to
improve, with adjusted net debt/EBITDA remaining above 7.5x
or adjusted EBITDA/interest expense staying below 2.0x; (3)
the trust fails to maintain adequate liquidity over the next 12 to 18
months; (4) the trust increases its exposure to the Lippo group of
companies; or (5) the credit quality of the Lippo group of companies,
including Lippo Karawaci, weakens. A downgrade of Lippo Karawaci's
rating will also result in downgrade of LMIRT'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.
Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) is a real estate investment
trust and has been listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since November
2007. At 30 September 2020, it had a portfolio of 21 retail
malls and seven retail spaces across major cities in Indonesia,
with a total appraised value of around SGD1.45 billion.
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 its website www.moodys.com.
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
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Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
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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
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077