Page 16 - AsianOil Week 15

AsianOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsianOil
S O UTH ASIA
IndianOil ties up LPG imports
Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) is fully geared to meet additional demand for LPG coking gas in the country that may arise in the course of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The Corporation has tied up additional imports
of the product for April and May (to the tune of about 50% over normal imports) to ensure uninterrupted availability of bulk LPG for its bottling plants.
IndianOil is taking steps to increase
LPG production in its major refineries by optimising operations, improving LPG yield in LPG producing units like FCC/IndMax, etc. The Corporation’s LPG bottling plants too are working extended hours, operating night shifts and on public holidays/Sundays, to meet the growing demand. The transport infrastructure linking the plants to the distributors has also been optimised for quick turnaround of cylinders.
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the supply points and the marketing network, IndianOil could deliver more than 3.38 crore LPG cylinders to its customers in the last 15 days since lockdown, that is, 26 lakh cylinders every single working day.
Despite lockdown/curfew/containment and various other restrictions on movement imposed by various State/District administrations, IndianOil’s LPG distributors and delivery boys are going the extra mile to ensure timely delivery of LPG cylinders to the doorsteps of customers in the safest possible way. People across the supply chain are practicing high standard of hygiene and sanitisation and are using masks & gloves while handling & delivering cylinders.
While assuring its customers across the country of adequate LPG supplies, IndianOil has appealed to them not to resort to panic-booking or visit the showrooms and godowns of their LPG distributorships for obtaining refills. INDIANOIL, April 9, 2020
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Petronas successfully
prices US$6bn bond
offering
Petronas successfully priced a US$6
billion multi-tranche senior bond offering, comprising US$2.25 billion 10-year, US$2.75 billion 30-year and US$1 billion 40-year conventional notes.
The 10-year conventional notes were priced 290 bps over the 10-year treasury to yield 3.65%, the 30-year conventional notes were priced to yield 4.55% and the 40-year conventional notes were priced to yield 4.80%. There were robust demands for the bonds with the order books reaching US$37 billion at the time of pricing, which was one of the largest order books by an Asian issuer ever. The 6.2x oversubscription ratio reflects the market’s confidence in Petronas’ credit strength which was recently affirmed at A2 by Moody’s and A- by S&P, both with stable outlooks.
The issuance represents Petronas’ return
to the international US dollar bond markets since its US$5 billion multi-tranche offering in March 2015, and is part of the on-going prudent capital management efforts which also effectively extend its debt maturity profile.
The proceeds will be used by Petronas, or its subsidiaries and associated companies, for refinancing, capital expenditures, working capital and general corporate purposes.
BofA Securities and Citigroup acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners, together with HSBC, Maybank and MUFG as Joint Bookrunners.
PETRONAS, April 15, 2020
Fitch revises Petronas’ outlook to Negative
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook
on Malaysia-based Petroliam Nasional’s (Petronas) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable’ and affirmed the Long- Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at ‘A-’. Fitch has also affirmed its Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘F1’. At the same time, Fitch has affirmed Petronas’ foreign- currency senior unsecured rating and the rating on debt issued by subsidiary Petronas Capital Limited and guaranteed by Petronas
at ‘A-’.
The rating actions follow the revision of
the Outlook on Malaysia’s ‘A-’ IDR to Negative from Stable on 9 April 2020. Petronas’ IDRs are constrained by the sovereign’s IDRs, as per Fitch’s Government-Related Entities Rating Criteria. The company is 100%-owned by the state, which in our view, can exert significant influence over its operating and financial policies. Petronas’ Standalone Credit Profile (SCP), assessed byFitchat‘aa-’,isstrongerthanthatofits shareholder, reflecting the company’s very strong financial profile, large scale and integrated oil and gas operations.
Petronas accounted for more than 15% of the Malaysian government’s revenue over the last five years. Fitch will equalise its ratings with those of the sovereign even if its SCP falls below the sovereign rating so long as the company
sustainably generates more than 10% of the government’s revenue, in line with our criteria for rating government-related entities (GREs). Fitch has assessed that Petronas has ‘Strong’ sovereign linkages and the state has ‘Very Strong’ incentive to provide support to the company.
Fitch sees Petronas’ status, ownership and control by the state as ‘Strong’. The government’s ownership gives it significant influence over
the company’s operating and financial policies. Petronas, as Malaysia’s national oil company, benefits from exclusive rights to the country’s oil and gas reserves by regulation. Petronas has not required tangible financial support, although the sovereign has reduced the company’s dividend payments when earnings are weak, and we expect financial support to be forthcoming, if necessary.
FITCH RATINGS, April 14, 2020
Fitch rates PTT’s new
debenture programme
‘AAA(tha)’
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) has assigned PTT Public Company Limited’s upcoming THB44 billion medium-term debenture programme a National Long-Term Rating of ‘AAA(tha)’.
The debentures under the programme will be senior unsecured with a maturity of up to 30 years and will be rated at the same level PTT’s National Long-Term Rating, as they will constitute its direct, unsecured, unconditional and unsubordinated obligations.
PTT’s Issuer Default Rating is the same as its Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) of ‘bbb+’, but will be equalised with that of the sovereign (BBB+/Stable) if its SCP weakens under Fitch’s Government-Related Entities Rating Criteria. Fitch regards PTT’s status, ownership and control by the sovereign as ‘Moderate’; the state directly owns 51% of PTT and appoints its board. We see the support record and expectations of state support as ‘Strong’. There has been no explicit tangible financial state support due to PTT’s strong financial position, but we believe support would be forthcoming, if needed, in light of PTT’s strategic role in Thailand’s oil and gas sectors.
FITCH RATINGS, April 14, 2020
S&P affirms PTTEP’s BBB+ CreditRatings
Standard and Poor’s Rating Group (S&P) affirms the credit ratings of PTTEP at BBB+, the same level as Thailand’s current sovereign credit rating. Key rating supporters are its solid financial position, with strong liquidity profile during this plummeting oil price
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Week 15 16•April•2020