[ET Net News Agency, 19 December 2019] S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB' long-term
issuer credit rating on Seazen Group Ltd. (01030) and 'BB-' long-term issue rating on the
company's outstanding offshore senior unsecured notes. It also removed the ratings from
CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on 5 July 2019.
Seazen Group's sales have been relatively resilient following the detention of its then
chairman in July and the credit rating agency expects the company's steady sales
performance to continue into 2020.
S&P believes the China-based company's access to financing channels has improved, as
demonstrated by new commercial bank lending and its recent fundraising from offshore
bonds.
The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that Seazen Group will maintain steady
sales and revenue as well as its operating scale in the next 12 months. The agency
believes the company's leverage will remain stable even as access to financing continues
to improve because a material debt increase is unlikely and funding costs will be higher.
(KL)