Hong Kong, December 08, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned Baa2 long-term and Prime-2
short-term issuer ratings to China Everbright Limited.
The ratings outlook is stable.
This is the first time that Moody's has assigned ratings to China Everbright
Limited.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Baa2 long-term issuer rating reflects the company's (1)
growing but still limited position in the fragmented investment management
sectors in China (Aa3 stable) and Hong Kong (Aa1 stable); (2) historically
strong assets under management (AUM) resilience; and (3) good profitability
levels with steady revenues growth. These factors are partly offset
by the company's (1) concentration into the China-focused
market funds; (2) a higher level of investment risk compared to global
peers and (3) increasing leverage ratio.
The Baa2 long-term issuer rating also incorporates a three-notch
uplift reflecting Moody's assessment of a high probability of support
from its parent, China Everbright Group Limited (unrated),
if needed.
STANDALONE CREDIT ASSESSMENT
Established in Hong Kong in 1997, China Everbright Limited has been
growing its franchise at a rapid pace but it remains a relatively small
industry player. Moody's considers the company to be well
positioned to benefit from capital market reforms in China and increasing
demand for cross-border investment and fund management products.
The rating agency also believes that China Everbright Limited benefits
from the group's existing franchise and relationships to source
businesses from large state-owned enterprises and local governments
in China. This is evidenced by the rapid increase in its AUM to
HKD 58 billion at end-June 2015, from HKD 23 billion at end-2012.
Over the past five years, China Everbright Limited has exhibited
high client retention and replacement rates because a large portion of
its existing client funds are locked-in in long-dated funds
or long-term investments. In addition, most of its
primary market investment funds are still young and in the fund raising
stage. Moody's believes that the company's track record
of strong investment performance has also supported its fundraising ability
and high AUM resilience.
China Everbright Limited has maintained good profitability levels over
the last five years, as evidenced by an average annual pre-tax
margin -- excluding the share of profits from associates
and joint ventures -- of above 60%. Moreover,
its revenues have continued to growth at a steady pace, although
investment gains dependent on buoyant capital markets have been at the
core of these gains.
In Moody's view, the company's standalone credit strength
is constrained by its concentration to China-focused market funds,
which make it more sensitive to changes in China's economic environment
and capital market performance in China compared to its global peers.
In addition, while the company is making progress toward establishing
its fixed-income products and secondary market franchises,
these are still at the developing stage and it will take some time for
these franchises to bring tangible benefits to its credit profile.
China Everbright Limited also carries high investment risk because it
invests significant balance-sheet capital in deals related to funds
that it already participates in, thereby posing a higher level of
investment risk than traditional asset management companies. At
end-June 2015, the company had HKD42 billion in investments
on its balance sheet.
Moreover, the company has increased its bank borrowings to support
the growth of its principal investment business, thereby raising
its leverage and reducing its financial flexibility. The company's
bank loans increased to HKD10.2 billion at end-June 2015
from HKD3.1 billion at end-2013; its overall financial
leverage -- measured by total debt/EBITDA according to Moody's
calculations -- was up to around 3.6x from 1.9x,
over the same period.
SUPPORT ASSESSMENT
Moody's considers China Everbright Limited to be strategically important
to the broader China Everbright Group, as indicated by its 49.7%
indirect ownership and shared name which could bring significant reputational
risk to the group, should China Everbright Limited fails.
In addition, the group has a strong track record of providing financial
support to its subsidiaries.
China Everbright Limited has long acted as a key offshore investment holding
company for the group. Moody's believes that the company
will continue to perform that important role for the group, as it
targets to develop its overseas and international business.
Furthermore, China Everbright Limited benefits from a 'keepwell'
agreement from the group. Although this does not represent a formal
guarantee, it demonstrates the group's commitment to (1) hold at
least 40% of the company's outstanding shares; (2) maintain
the company as the group's primary overseas subsidiary for investment
holdings and as a fundraising platform; and (3) provide financial
support, if necessary.
China Everbright Group is in turn wholly owned by the Chinese government
through a 44.33% stake held by the Ministry of Finance and
a remaining 55.67% share held by Central Huijin Investment
Limited, which is the domestic investment arm of China's sovereign
wealth fund, China Investment Corp. Moody's believes that
China Everbright Group is important to the Chinese government, given
that it is a pioneer state-owned financial conglomerate comprising
a fully-licensed bank, an insurance company, a securities
firm, and other financial assets.
These factors underpin the three notches of uplift included in China Everbright
Limited's Baa2 rating.
What Could Change the Rating -- Up
The company's standalone credit assessment could experience upward
pressure if the company (1) continues to increase its assets under management
(AUM)/revenue to more than USD10 billion/USD 500m and diversifies its
AUM mix to include overseas and secondary market funds; (2) reduces
and keeps total debt/EBITDA below 2.5x; and (3) maintains
its profitability at the current level, with less volatility during
capital-market fluctuations. However, since the issuer
rating already benefits from a three-notch uplift for expected
support, an improvement in the company's standalone credit profile
may not necessarily translate into an upgrade of the rating.
The ratings could also be upgraded if Moody's increases its assessment
of the China Everbright Group's credit profile, which could
result in a higher uplift for support.
What Could Change the Rating -- down
The company's ratings could experience downward pressure if (1)
its client retention rate and replacement rate fall to below 80%
and 100% respectively; (2) it reports significant falls in
its pre-tax margin due to an increasing level of investment risks;
(3) total debt/EBITDA rises to above 5x; and/or (4) Moody's
reduces its support assumptions.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Asset Managers:
Traditional and Alternative published in February 2014. Please
see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy
of this methodology.
China Everbright Limited is headquartered in Hong Kong. It reported
assets of HKD61.6 billion at end-June 2015.
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 rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
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 rating action, and
whose ratings may change as a result of this 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.
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.
Sean Hung
Asst Vice President - 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
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Stephen Long
MD - Financial Institutions
Financial Institutions Group
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (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
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Moody's assigns Baa2/Prime-2 issuer ratings to China Everbright Limited; outlook stable