Hong Kong, January 06, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B2 senior unsecured rating to
the proposed USD bond to be issued by Golden Wheel Tiandi Holdings Company
Limited (B2 stable).
The bond proceeds will be used by Golden Wheel mainly to refinance its
existing debt.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The proposed bond issuance will lengthen Golden Wheel's debt
maturity profile and will not have a material impact on its credit metrics,"
says Cedric Lai, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst.
Moody's points out that Golden Wheel's B2 corporate family rating
reflects its (1) good track record in developing integrated commercial
and residential property projects in Nanjing; (2) stable recurring
income from investment properties; and (3) track record of prudent
financial management; with the company cautiously expanding its operations.
On the other hand, Golden Wheel's credit profile is constrained
by its small operating scale, weak liquidity and volatile credit
metrics because of its small operating scale and geographic concentration.
Moody's expects that Golden Wheel's adjusted EBIT/interest and revenue/adjusted
debt will improve to around 1.8x and 25%-35%
respectively over the next 12-18 months from 1.6x and 17%
for the 12 months ended 30 June 2019. These ratios are in line
with its B2 ratings, given the company's stable recurring
income.
Golden Wheel's liquidity position is weak. Moody's expects
that the company's cash holdings and operating cash flow will be insufficient
to cover its short-term debt and committed land payments over the
next 12 months.
In terms of environmental, social and governance factors,
Moody's considers the company's concentrated ownership by the Wong family,
who held a 39.16% stake in the company at 30 July 2019.
Moody's also considers the company's established internal governance
for the disclosure of material related-party transactions,
as required by the relevant codes for companies listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange.
The stable ratings outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the company
will refinance its maturing debt , adopt a disciplined approach
to expansion, and maintain a stable recurring income stream.
Upward ratings pressure could emerge, if Golden Wheel: (1)
expands its scale through stable revenue growth, and maintains a
stronger and less volatile financial profile; or (2) maintains solid
liquidity.
Credit metrics that could trigger an upgrade include: (1) net rental
income that covers 1.0x of gross interest expenses; (2) a
revenue to debt ratio above 60%-70%; and (3)
a cash to short-term debt ratio above 1.3x on a sustained
basis.
Moody's could downgrade the ratings if Golden Wheel: (1) experiences
a significant decline in sales or rental income; (2) materially increases
its debt-funded investment projects; or (3) fails to maintain
adequate liquidity.
Credit metrics that could trigger a ratings downgrade include: (1)
a net rental income to gross interest ratio below 0.3x; (2)
an adjusted EBIT to gross interest ratio below 1.5x on a sustained
basis; or (3) a cash to short-term debt ratio below 1.0x.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Homebuilding And Property
Development Industry published in January 2018. Please see the
Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of
this methodology.
Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2013, Golden Wheel
Tiandi Holdings Company Limited is an integrated commercial and residential
property developer, owner and operator, focused on projects
in Jiangsu and Hunan provinces. Its projects are either connected
or close to metro stations or other transportation hubs.
The company also engages in the leasing and operational management of
shopping malls owned by third parties.
At 30 June 2019, the company's land bank totaled 1.79 million
sqm in gross floor area, situated in Nanjing, Yangzhou,
Changsha, Wuxi, Zhuzhou and Hong Kong.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
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.
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when it maintains an overall relationship with Moody's. Unless
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generally provides Moody's with information for the purposes of
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ratings tab on the issuer/entity page and for details of Moody'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.
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
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
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.
Cedric Lai
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Corporate Finance 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
Franco Leung
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance 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