Hong Kong, October 18, 2019 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa3 rating to the proposed
USD senior unsecured notes to be issued by Huayi Finance I Ltd.
and guaranteed by Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company (Shanghai Huayi,
Baa3 stable). Huayi Finance I Ltd. is an indirect wholly-owned
subsidiary of Shanghai Huayi.
The proceeds from the proposed issuance will be used to refinance Shanghai
Huayi's existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Baa3 rating on the proposed notes reflects the irrevocable and unconditional
guarantee from Shanghai Huayi and the fact that the securities will rank
pari-passu with other present and future unsecured and unsubordinated
obligations of Shanghai Huayi.
The proposed notes will not materially increase Shanghai Huayi's overall
debt level because the majority of the bond proceeds will be used to refinance
the company's existing debt. The notes will also improve
Shanghai Huayi's liquidity and debt maturity profile.
Shanghai Huayi's leverage for the 12 months to 30 June 2019 — as
measured by adjusted debt/EBITDA — stayed solid at 3.4x,
because the company improved its cost structure, which mitigated
the impact of lower chemical prices, while maintaining a stable
debt level in 1H 2019.
Moody's expects that Shanghai Huayi's leverage will slightly weaken but
remain resilient at 4.0x-4.5x in 2019-2020,
against the backdrop of weak chemical selling prices, which will
be partially offset by its stable production levels and low operational
costs.
Shanghai Huayi's Baa3 issuer rating reflects (1) the company's Baseline
Credit Assessment (BCA) of ba2; and (2) a two-notch uplift,
based on Moody's assessment of a strong likelihood of support for the
company from and high level of dependence on the Shanghai municipal government,
and ultimately the Government of China (A1 stable).
The strong support assessment is underpinned by Shanghai Huayi's full
ownership by the Shanghai municipal government, integrated role
as a major supplier to the regional chemical industry, and receipt
of large amounts of subsidies from the municipal government.
The support assessment also considers the reputational and contagion risks
that may arise if the company were to default. As such, Moody's
believes the central government would support efforts by the Shanghai
municipal government to prevent Shanghai Huayi from defaulting; thereby
avoiding disruption to the domestic financial markets.
These factors are counterbalanced by Shanghai Huayi's commercially driven
business operations.
The high dependence level reflects the fact that Shanghai Huayi and the
central government are exposed to common political and economic event
risks.
Shanghai Huayi's ba2 BCA reflects the company's (1) large business
scale and established track record in the domestic markets; (2) diversified
product portfolio, which helps mitigate individual product profitability
cycles; and (3) large cash balance and substantial land reserves
in Shanghai.
At the same time, Shanghai Huayi's BCA is constrained by the company's
(1) primary exposure to the commodity chemical business; (2) modest
profitability; and (3) high capital spending to expand production
capacities.
The rating also takes into account the following environmental,
social and governance considerations.
As a commodity chemical producer, Shanghai Huayi is exposed to elevated
environmental and social risks because of increasing environmental regulations
and growing social awareness and pressure associated with certain products.
Such risks are mitigated by the company's good track record of complying
with environmental protection regulations and managing the safety of its
productions.
In terms of corporate governance, as a state-owned enterprise
100% owned by the Shanghai municipal government, Shanghai
Huayi has its annual business plan and performance evaluated by the Shanghai
State-Owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission.
It also maintains prudent financial policies, as shown by its large
cash balance of RMB14.0 billion or around 63% of its reported
gross debt at 30 June 2019.
Moody's will consider upgrading Shanghai Huayi's ratings if the
company maintains (1) resilient business and financial profiles through
the chemical industry cycles; and (2) its current strong liquidity
profile.
Credit metrics that Moody's will consider for an upgrade include
adjusted debt/EBITDA below 3.0x-3.5x on a sustained
basis.
Moody's could also upgrade Shanghai Huayi's ratings without an improvement
in the company's BCA, if Moody's assesses an increased
level of government support for the company.
On the other hand, Moody's could downgrade the ratings if
(1) the company's competitiveness and business sustainability worsen;
(2) its leverage increases through aggressive debt-funded investments
and expansions; or (3) its liquidity position materially weakens.
Credit metrics that Moody's will consider for a downgrade include
adjusted debt/EBITDA above 5.5x on a sustained basis.
Moody's could also downgrade Shanghai Huayi's ratings without lowering
its BCA, if Moody's assesses that government support for the
company has weakened.
In addition, any material reduction in ownership of the company
by the Shanghai municipal government or in Shanghai Huayi's ownership
of its key listed subsidiaries will pressure the company's ratings.
The methodologies used in this rating were Chemical Industry published
in March 2019, and Government-Related Issuers published in
June 2018. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of these methodologies.
Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company is a major producer of commodity chemicals
in China.
The company has five major segments: (1) Energy Chemicals,
(2) Advanced Materials, (3) Green Tires, (4) Specialty Chemicals,
and (5) Chemical Services.
It produces basic chemicals, clean energy products, tires,
plastics, coatings, dyestuffs and pigments, fluorine
chemicals, reagents, additives and chemical equipment.
In 2018, Shanghai Huayi generated total revenue of RMB60.8
billion and reported assets of RMB71.1 billion.
The local market analyst for this rating is Jin Wu, +86 (212)
057-4021.
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
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and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
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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.
Gerwin Ho
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
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China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
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Gary Lau
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
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Client Service: 852 3551 3077
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Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
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