Hong Kong, April 28, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has downgraded GCL New Energy Holdings Limited's
(GCL New Energy) corporate family rating (CFR) to Caa1 from B3,
and its senior unsecured debt rating to Caa2 from Caa1.
The ratings outlook remains negative.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The downgrade reflects the accelerating pressure on GCL New Energy's
liquidity and rising refinancing risks, particularly given USD500
million bond maturing January 2021," says Ivy Poon,
a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst.
"The prolonged negotiations regarding its planned asset sales and
delays in the receipt of government subsidies further exacerbate this
refinancing risk," adds Poon.
Moody's estimates that GCL New Energy has close to RMB12.5
billion of debt maturing through March 2021, with a bridge loan
from China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. (A2 stable) and
USD500 million bond accounting for over half of the maturing debt.
However, the company does not have adequate internal financial resources
to meet the huge funding gap, and there does not appear to be any
meaningful plan to manage refinancing risk.
At the same time, there has been limited progress in the planned
asset sales to China Huaneng. The company had planned to use the
proceeds from the asset sales as a key source to repay its maturing debt.
In particular, the scale of the first batch of asset sales in January
2020 was only 294MW, which is much smaller than Moody's had
previously expected.
Although the company is in talks regarding the remaining asset sales,
the timing and final size of the transactions remain highly uncertain.
The coronavirus outbreak will also hinder negotiations and execution of
transactions in the near term, increasing refinancing risk.
The company is also in the process of registering projects it connected
to the grid up to July 2017 to the latest batch of China's renewable
energy subsidy catalogue. However, uncertainty remains around
the timing and amount of the government subsidies to be received in the
second half of 2020, given the historically lengthy collection periods.
In terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors,
Moody's has considered the company's focus on renewable energy,
as well as its business strategy, financial policy, regulatory
risk and corporate governance structure.
The senior unsecured debt rating is one notch lower than the CFR due to
subordination risk.
The negative ratings outlook reflects Moody's expectation that GCL New
Energy will continue to face heightened refinancing risk for its sizable
maturing debt over the next 12 months.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
The company's ratings could be further downgraded in the near term
if (1) it does not refinance its maturing debt in a timely manner,
or in the event of any default, and (2) its transaction with China
Huaneng is completed in a way that significantly weakens GCL New Energy's
credit profile.
The outlook on the ratings could return to stable if the company refinances
its maturing debt and/or introduces other countermeasures to ease liquidity
pressure. Moody's will also consider the progress made in the potential
transaction with China Huaneng and its impact on GCL New Energy.
Upward ratings pressure is unlikely, given the negative outlook.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Unregulated Utilities
and Unregulated Power Companies published in May 2017 and available at
https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1066389.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
GCL New Energy Holdings Limited is a privately-owned solar power
generation company in China. The company's installed capacity totaled
7.2GW at the end of 2019.
GCL New Energy was 62.28% owned by GCL-Poly Energy
Holdings Limited at the end of 2019. GCL New Energy is the sole
downstream platform of its parent company.
Founded in 1996, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited is an integrated
solar photovoltaic company.
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Ivy Poon
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Project & Infrastructure Finance
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
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Terry Fanous
MD-Public Proj & Infstr Fin
Project & Infrastructure Finance
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Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
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China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
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