[ET Net News Agency, 17 November 2017] Moody's Investors Service has upgraded CK
Hutchison Holdings Limited's (CKHH) and its subsidiaries' ratings.
The affected ratings are as follows:
- CKHH's issuer rating has been upgraded to A2 from A3;
- The ratings for the subordinated perpetual capital securities issued by CK Hutchison
Capital Securities (17) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Europe Finance (13) Limited and
guaranteed by CKHH have been upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2.
- The senior unsecured ratings for the bonds issued by CK Hutchison Finance (16) (II)
Limited, CK Hutchison Finance (16) Limited, CK Hutchison International (16) Limited, CK
Hutchison International (17) Limited, Hutchison Whampoa Europe Finance (12) Limited,
Hutchison Whampoa Finance (14) Limited, Hutchison Whampoa Finance (CI) Limited, Hutchison
Whampoa Finance UK plc, Hutchison Whampoa Int'l (12) (II) Ltd., Hutchison Whampoa
International (03/33) Ltd., Hutchison Whampoa International (09) Limited, Hutchison
Whampoa International (09/19) Ltd, Hutchison Whampoa International (11) Limited, Hutchison
Whampoa International (14) Limited, and CK Hutchison International (17) (II) Limited have
been upgraded to A2 from A3. These bonds are guaranteed by CKHH.
The outlooks on all the ratings above are stable.
This rating action concludes the ratings review initiated on 27 October 2017 following
Moody's publication of its updated cross-sector methodology "Notching Corporate instrument
Ratings Based on Differences in Security and Priority of Claim".
"The upgrade reflects our view that CKHH's issuer rating is unaffected by structural
subordination to claims at the operating company level, pursuant to the guidance on
structural subordination in Moody's updated methodology," said Gloria Tsuen, a Moody's
Vice President and Senior Analyst.
"Our view is based on the fact that, despite CKHH's status as a holding company with a
majority of the group's claims at the operating subsidiary level, the group's diversified
business profile - with cash flow generation across a large number of operating
subsidiaries - mitigates structural subordination risks. As a result, we have removed the
structural subordination previously incorporated in CKHH's rating," added Tsuen. (KL)