FL49 Kuw.pro.suk 29

TIDMFL49

RNS Number : 0168X

Kuwait Projects Company Sukuk Ltd

15 December 2023

Kuwait Projects Company Sukuk Limited

Rating action by Moody's Investors Service (Moody's)

Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) K.S.C.P. (KIPCO), the Obligor of Kuwait Projects Company Sukuk Limited, announced that Moody's has downgraded its Corporate Family Rating (CFR) to Ba3 from Ba2 and the Probability of Default Rating (PDR) to Ba3-PD from Ba2-PD. Concurrently, Moody's downgraded to (P)Ba3 from (P)Ba2 the provisional ratings assigned to the senior unsecured $3 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program issued by Kuwait Projects Co SPC Limited and to Ba3 from Ba2 the ratings on the backed senior unsecured bonds due in 2026 and 2027 issued by Kuwait Projects Co SPC Limited. Moody's also affirmed Kuwait Projects Co SPC Limited's (P)NP backed short term rating. The outlook on all ratings remains negative. Rating action reflects Moody's expectation that KIPCO's market value leverage (MVL) will remain above 40%, which is higher than what the rating agency originally anticipated.

KIPCO's Ba3 CFR continues to reflect (1) the portfolio of companies' strong market positions in the financial services and chemicals industries within the MENA region; (2) the historical track record of maintaining a strong liquidity profile with the expectation of around $500 million in cash at holding level as of December 2023 and the propensity to actively prefund debt maturities to remove refinancing risk; (3) pro-active steps being taken by the KIPCO's management to strengthen operating and financial performance of major holdings; and (4) shareholder linkages with Kuwait's ruling family.

The ratings also capture (1) the high asset concentration with KIPCO's three largest holdings making up close to 50% of KIPCO's investment portfolio value (excluding cash); (2) capital reinvestment strategy within its subsidiaries which results in low dividends up streamed and the expectation of a low FFO interest coverage ratio at holdco level as of December 2023; and (3) the geographical concentration in MENA, that has areas of heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic risks.

For further information, please contact:

Investors, Press and Media:

Eman Al-Awadhi

49(th) Floor

KIPCO Tower, Khaled Bin Al-Waleed St, Sharq

P.O. Box 23982

Safat 13100

Kuwait

Tel: +965 2294 3416

Email: eman.alawadhi@kipco.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.

END

MSCTABTTMTMBBIJ

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2023 07:07 ET (12:07 GMT)

Kuw.pro.suk 29 (LSE:FL49)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jan 2025 bis Feb 2025

Kuw.pro.suk 29 (LSE:FL49)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Feb 2024 bis Feb 2025