Hong Kong, May 15, 2019 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Ba2 senior unsecured rating
to the proposed USD notes to be issued by New Metro Global Limited,
and guaranteed by Seazen Holdings Co., Ltd. (Ba2 stable).
The proceeds of the notes will be used by Seazen mainly to repay its existing
indebtedness.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The proposed notes will provide term funding for Seazen to grow its business,
as well as improve its liquidity and debt maturity profile," says
Kaven Tsang, a Moody's Senior Vice President.
"The notes will not have a material impact on the company's credit metrics,
because Seazen will use the proceeds for refinancing," adds Tsang,
who is also Moody's Lead Analyst for Seazen.
Moody's projects that Seazen's adjusted revenue/debt and adjusted EBIT/interest
coverage — including its share in joint ventures — will improve
to 75%-80% and 4.0x-4.5x respectively
over the next 12-18 months from 62% and 3.7x,
in 2018. These ratios support the company's Ba2 corporate family
rating (CFR).
Seazen's Ba2 CFR continues to reflect its strong sales execution,
growing scale and broadened geographic coverage. In addition,
the company's growing stream of recurring rental income from its
leasing business can improve its overall profitability and reduce the
cash flow volatility arising from the property sales business.
However, the rating also factors in its exposure to the regional
economy of the Yangtze River Delta and sizeable business exposure to joint
ventures.
Seazen's liquidity is good. The company's cash holdings
of RMB45.4 billion at 31 December 2018 could cover 2.3x
of its short-term debt as of the same date. Moody's
also expects that Seazen's cash holdings and operating cash flow
will likely cover its short-term debt and committed land payments
over the next 12 months.
Moody's has not notched down the Ba2 backed senior unsecured bond rating.
Although the majority of the company's claims are at the operating subsidiary
level, its diversified business profile — with cash flow generation
across a large number of operating subsidiaries and different business
segments, covering both property development and property investment
— mitigates structural subordination risks.
Moody's could upgrade Seazen's ratings if the company sustains its
resilient sales through cycles, as well as strong liquidity and
prudent financial management.
Specifically, upward ratings pressure could emerge if the company's
(1) adjusted revenue/debt — including its share in joint ventures
— exceeds 90% on a sustained basis; and (2) EBIT/interest
coverage — including its share in joint ventures — stays above
4.25x, or recurring rental income/interest coverage trends
towards 0.70x-0.75x on a sustained basis.
On the other hand, downward ratings pressure could emerge if the
company's contracted sales growth slows and its credit metrics weaken,
with its (1) EBIT/interest coverage — including its share in joint
ventures — falling below 3.0x; or (2) adjusted revenue/debt
— including its share in joint ventures — falling below 70%-75%.
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.
Seazen Holdings Co., Ltd. engages primarily in residential
development and was founded in 1993 by Wang Zhenhua, who is also
the chairman of the company. Seazen is a 67.1%-owned
subsidiary of Future Land Development Holdings Limited (Ba2 stable),
and the mainland-listed holding company of Future Land Group.
At the end of 2018, Seazen had a land bank spread across 77 cities
in China, with a total gross floor area of around 110 million square
meters.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt 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.
Moody's considers a rated entity or its agent(s) to be participating
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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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.
Kaven Tsang
Senior Vice President
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
Chris Park
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