Abu Dhabi afferma in uno statement pubblico il proprio pieno ed incondizionato supporto per alcune delle sue GRE, e S&P ne afferma il rating a pari livello con quello dello sceiccato...
Three Abu Dhabi-Based Government-Related Entities Removed From CreditWatch; Ratings Affirmed At 'AA/A-1+'
- Following a reassessment of our view on the support of the government of
the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (AA/Stable/A-1+) for International Petroleum
Investment Company, Mubadala Development Co., and Tourism Development and
Investment Company, we affirm their long- and short-term ratings 'AA' and
'A-1+', respectively.
- We have taken the ratings off CreditWatch negative, where they were
placed on April 7, 2010. The outlook is stable.
- In accordance with our criteria on government-related entities (GREs),
the ratings on the three institutions are equalized with those on the
sovereign, based on our assessment of the "critical" role they play for
the government and their "integral" links with the government. We believe
that extraordinary support from the government would be "almost certain"
in case of financial distress of one of the GREs.
FRANKFURT (Standard & Poor's) May 12, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
said today that it affirmed its 'AA/A-1+' long- and short-term issuer credit
ratings on Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC),
Mubadala Development Co. PJSC, and Tourism Development and Investment Company
P.J.S.C. (TDIC). The ratings were removed from CreditWatch with negative
implications, where they had been placed on April 7, 2010. The outlook on the
long-term ratings on the three government-related entities (GREs) is stable.
Standard & Poor's placed IPIC, Mubadala, and TDIC on CreditWatch negative on
April 7, 2010. We planned to review our assessment of the likelihood of
extraordinary financial support from the government of Abu Dhabi. We have now
concluded our review and we affirm the ratings at 'AA/A-1+', equalized with
the sovereign.
Standard & Poor's rates IPIC, Mubadala, and TDIC according to its enhanced
criteria on government-related entities. Although the government does not
formally guarantee the GREs' liabilities, we equalize the ratings on the three
entities with those on the government of Abu Dhabi. This assessment is based
on what we believe is the companies' "critical" role for Abu Dhabi's official
long-term development and economic diversification strategies and our view of
an integral link with the government. Accordingly, we consider that
extraordinary government support in times of financial stress is almost
certain.
Standard & Poor's credit analyst Moritz Kraemer said: "In March 2010, Abu
Dhabi's Department of Finance took the rare step of explicitly and publicly
declaring its 'full and unconditional' support for IPIC, Mubadala, and TDIC;
companies it deems 'irreplaceable.' The government had singled out the three
companies specifically as being particularly closely linked to the Emirate's
government, a view that we share."
Abu Dhabi has a track record of ongoing support and the Emirate's recent
extraordinary support for GREs in the neighboring Emirate of Dubai
demonstrates its willingness to provide support, although Abu Dhabi had never
committed to support Dubai GREs in times of financial distress. Abu Dhabi has,
in our view, established a track record of providing timely, ongoing support
to its own GREs and has provided extraordinary support when necessary.
We consider the stand-alone credit profile for all three GREs to be in the
'BBB' category, incorporating ongoing, but not extraordinary, support.
Standard & Poor's believes that the companies' integral links with and
critical roles for the government will remain unchanged, and that the
companies will continue to benefit from ongoing support to their operations,
and, if the need arises, extraordinary financial support. The outlook is also
based on our expectation that the GREs will continue to focus on their public
policy roles. Any indication of significant mission creep toward more
commercial activities could bring the ratings on the GREs under pressure.
Any lowering of the credit rating on the government of Abu Dhabi, or any
indication that the government's commitment to the GREs is weakening, would
result in a lower credit rating on the companies. A higher rating could result
from improvement in the credit quality of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to which
the underlying credit risk of the three GREs is linked.