Singapore, November 17, 2017 -- Moody's Investors Service has taken a number of rating actions on Indian
non-financial corporates, following its earlier announcement
that it has upgraded India's sovereign rating to Baa2 from Baa3.
As a result of the sovereign action, Moody's has upgraded the foreign
currency issuer ratings of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL),
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation
Ltd (IOCL), and Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) to Baa2 from Baa3.
The outlook on these ratings have been revised to stable from positive.
At the same time, the foreign currency issuer rating of Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has been upgraded to Baa1 from
Baa2. The outlook is stable.
A list of each company's rating actions is included at the end of this
Press Release.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"The rating upgrades for IOCL, BPCL and HPCL follow the upgrade
of the sovereign rating and reflect the strategic importance of the oil
marketing companies as they own and operate the majority of the country's
fuel refining entities and most of the fuel distribution infrastructure.
The baseline credit assessments (BCA) of the three companies remain unchanged
at ba1," says Vikas Halan, Moody's Vice President and
Senior Credit Officer.
"The upgrade of the foreign currency ratings of ONGC follow the
raising of the ceiling for foreign currency bonds. ONGC's
baa1 BCA and Baa1 local currency issuer rating remain unchanged,"
adds Halan.
The upgrade of PLL reflects the upgrade of the rating of its key counterparties
including IOCL and BPCL, which have been a constraint on its ratings.
The Baa2 rating of Oil India Limited (OIL) is already at par with its
baa2 BCA and also the upgraded rating of the Indian government.
Thus, the upgrade of the sovereign has no impact on OIL's
foreign currency issuer and bond ratings.
For a more detailed assessment of each issuer's credit profile,
please see their updated Credit Opinions on moodys.com.
The principal methodologies used in rating Indian Oil Corporation Ltd,
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BPRL International Singapore
Pte. Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
were Refining and Marketing Industry published in November 2016 and Government-Related
Issuers published in August 2017. The principal methodologies used
in rating ONGC Videsh Limited, ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte.
Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. were Independent
Exploration and Production Industry published in May 2017, and Government-Related
Issuers published in August 2017. The principal methodology used
in rating Petronet LNG Limited was Midstream Energy published in May 2017.
Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of these methodologies.
BPCL, headquartered in Mumbai, is a leading downstream company,
specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution and
the retailing of petroleum products. The company is listed on the
Indian stock exchanges and is 54.93%-owned by the
Indian government.
IOCL, headquartered in New Delhi, is a leading downstream
company, specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution,
and the retailing of petroleum products, petrochemicals and natural
gas. It is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 57.34%
owned by the Indian government.
HPCL, headquartered in Mumbai is one of the leading downstream companies
in India, specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution,
and the retailing of petroleum products. It is listed on the Indian
stock exchanges and is 51.11% owned by the Indian government.
ONGC is India's largest exploration and production company. ONGC
is 68.93% owned by the Indian government.
OIL is a state-owned upstream oil and gas company in India.
Its business is primarily focused on the exploration and production (E&P)
of crude oil and natural gas within India. OIL is 66.13%
owned by the Indian government.
PLL was formed in 1998 by the Indian government to import LNG and set
up LNG terminals in the country. The company commenced commercial
operations in April 2004. The company is a joint venture promoted
by Gail (India) Limited, ONGC, IOCL and BPCL where each entity
has a 12.5% equity share, totaling 50%.
The remaining 50% is held publicly.
List of rating actions
.Issuer: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
..Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, upgraded to Baa2
from Baa3
..Senior Unsecured MTN Program, upgraded to (P)Baa2
from (P)Baa3
..Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, upgraded
to Baa2 from Baa3
..Outlook is revised to stable from positive
.Issuer: BPRL International Singapore Pte. Ltd.
..Backed Senior Unsecured MTN Program, upgraded to
(P)Baa2 from (P)Baa3
..Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
upgraded to Baa2 from Baa3
.Issuer: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
..Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, upgraded to Baa2
from Baa3
..Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, upgraded
to Baa2 from Baa3
..Outlook is revised to stable from positive
.Issuer: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd
..Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, upgraded to Baa2
from Baa3
..Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, upgraded
to Baa2 from Baa3
..Outlook is revised to stable from positive
.Issuer: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
..Local Currency Issuer Rating, remains unchanged
at Baa1
..Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, upgraded to Baa1
from Baa2
..Outlook is stable
.Issuer: ONGC Videsh Limited
..Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2
..Outlook is stable
.Issuer: ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd.
..Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture,
upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2
..Outlook is stable
.Issuer: Petronet LNG Limited
..Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, upgraded to Baa2
from Baa3
..Outlook is revised to stable from positive
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.
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.
Vikas Halan
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Laura Acres
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd.
50 Raffles Place #23-06
Singapore Land Tower
Singapore 48623
Singapore
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077