Bangkok--17 Nov--Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited has today revised the rating Outlook on the guaranteed debentures issued by Holcim Capital (Thailand) Limited (HCT) - Series I (due 2008), Series II (due 2010) and Series III (due 2012), amounting to THB7.6bn, to Negative from Stable, following a revision in the Outlook to Negative on Swiss-based Holcim Ltd (Holcim), the guarantor and HCT’s parent. At the same time, the debenture’s National Long-term ratings have been affirmed at ‘AA(tha)’ The ratings of HCT’s debentures are based entirely on the irrevocable and unconditional guarantee provided by Holcim, whose Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating is ‘BBB+’.
The Outlook change on Holcim reflects that the company’s de-leveraging in the coming 24 month is likely to slow down, as compared to Fitch’s earlier expectations, due to continued difficult trading conditions in the US construction market and the slowdown or decline in some key European markets. The agency believes that while Holcim has recently announced cost-cutting measures and a reduction in 2009 expansionary capex, more challenging market conditions, due to an expected severe recession in developed economies, and a marked slowdown in emerging markets, could result in a slower than expected improvement in its credit metrics.
Contacts: Obboon Thirachit, Wasant Polcharoen, Vincent Milton, Bangkok, Tel: +662 655 4755; Elisabetta Zorzi, Milan, +39 02 8790 87213.
Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with sub- or low-investment grade international sovereign ratings. The best risk within a country is rated ‘AAA’ and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as ‘AAA(tha)’ for National ratings in Thailand. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable.
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