Moody’s changes ratings outlook for eight Indian corporates to negative following sovereign outlook change -Full Text

Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has taken a number of rating actions on Indian non-financial corporates, following its earlier announcement that it has changed the outlook on India’s Baa2 sovereign rating to negative from stable.

As a result of the sovereign rating action, Moody’s has changed the outlook on the ratings of the following companies:

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL): Affirmed Baa2 foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings and revised outlook to negative from stable. Also affirmed the (P)Baa2 foreign currency senior unsecured rating on the MTN program. The ba1 baseline credit assessment (BCA) is affirmed.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL): Affirmed Baa2 foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt rating and revised outlook to negative from stable.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL): Affirmed Baa2 foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings and revised outlook to negative from stable. The ba1 BCA is affirmed.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC): Affirmed Baa1 local and foreign currency issuer rating; revised outlook to negative from stable. Also affirmed the (P)Baa1 foreign and local senior unsecured ratings on the MTN program. The baa1 BCA is affirmed.

Oil India Limited (OIL): Affirmed Baa2 local and foreign currency issuer and foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings; revised outlook to negative from stable. The baa3 BCA is affirmed.

Petronet LNG Limited (PLL): Affirmed Baa2 foreign currency issuer rating; revised outlook to negative from stable.

Infosys Limited (Infosys): Affirmed A3 local currency issuer rating and revised outlook to negative from stable.

Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS): Affirmed A3 local currency issuer rating and revised outlook to negative from stable.

A full list of affected ratings is provided towards the end of this press release.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The negative outlook reflects that Moody’s will downgrade the ratings of these companies if Moody’s downgrades the rating of India sovereign to Baa3 from Baa2.

“Ratings of IOCL, BPCL and OIL incorporate our expectation of support from the Indian government. Therefore a downgrade of the rating of the sovereign to Baa3 from Baa2 will result in downgrade of the respective Baa2 ratings of these companies,” says Vikas Halan, a Moody’s Senior Vice President.

“Although the Baa1 rating of ONGC does not incorporate any uplift because of support from the Indian government, it is constrained at no higher than one notch above the sovereign rating. Therefore a downgrade of the sovereign rating will also result in downgrade of the rating of ONGC. Further, the rating of HPCL, which also incorporates expectation of support from the government of India, through ONGC, will also be downgraded if we downgrade the rating of ONGC and the sovereign,” adds Halan, who is the lead analyst for the Indian oil and gas companies at Moody’s.

“PLL’s rating is constrained by the credit quality of its key offtakers — IOCL, BPCL and Gail (India) Limited. The respective ratings of these companies will be downgraded following a sovereign downgrade, which will then result in the downgrade of PLL,” adds Halan.

“Ratings for Infosys and TCS are constrained to no more than two notches above the sovereign rating. Therefore a sovereign rating downgrade will also result in downgrade of the A3 ratings of Infosys and TCS,” says Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody’s Vice President — Senior Credit Officer.

The principal methodologies used in rating Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd., and ONGC Videsh Limited were Integrated Oil and Gas Methodology published in September 2019, and Government-Related Issuers published in June 2018. The principal methodologies used in rating Oil India Limited and Oil India International Pte. Ltd. were Independent Exploration and Production Industry published in May 2017, and Government-Related Issuers published in June 2018. The principal methodologies used in rating Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and BPRL International Singapore Pte. Ltd. were Refining and Marketing Industry published in November 2016, and Government-Related Issuers published in June 2018. The principal methodology used in rating Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. was Refining and Marketing Industry published in November 2016. The principal methodology used in rating Petronet LNG Limited was Midstream Energy published in Decmber 2018. The principal methodology used in rating Tata Consultancy Services Limited and Infosys Limited was Business and Consumer Service Industry published in October 2016. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.

BPCL is headquartered in Mumbai. The company is a leading downstream company, specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution, and the retailing of petroleum products. The company is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 53.29% owned by the Indian government as of 30 September 2019.

HPCL, headquartered in Mumbai, is one of the leading downstream companies in India, specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution and the retailing of petroleum products. It is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 51.11% owned by ONGC.

Infosys is one of the world’s leading IT services, consulting, outsourcing and digital technology companies. The company’s operations are spread across North America (representing 61.4% of group revenue for the quarter ended 30 September 2019 [second quarter of fiscal 2020]), Europe (24.1%), the rest of the world (11.8%) and India (2.7%).

IOC, headquartered in New Delhi, is a leading downstream company, specializing in oil refining, marketing, distribution, and the retailing of petroleum products. It is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 51.5% owned by the Indian government as of 30 September 2019.

ONGC is India’s largest integrated oil and gas company. Its main operations include upstream exploration and production, although it also has operations in downstream segments. The company recorded consolidated oil and gas production of 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2019 (fiscal 2019). It is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 62.98% owned by the Indian government as of 30 September 2019.

OIL is a state-owned upstream oil and gas company in India. It focuses on crude oil and natural gas E&P in India. OIL also conducts international exploration activities through joint venture arrangements. The company is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and is 59.57% owned by the Indian government.

PLL was formed in 1998 by the Indian government to import LNG and set up LNG terminals in the country. The company commenced commercial operations in April 2004. The company is a joint venture promoted by Gail (India) Limited, ONGC, IOC and BPCL, with authorized capital of INR30 billion. Each of these entities has a 12.5% equity share, totaling 50%. The remaining 50% is held publicly.

TCS is India’s largest and one of the world’s leading IT consulting services and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, and is 72.05% owned by Tata Sons as of 30 September 2019.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS:

.Issuer: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

..Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa2

..Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured MTN Program, affirmed at (P)Baa2

..Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: BPRL International Singapore Pte. Ltd.

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured MTN Program, affirmed at (P)Baa2

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

..Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa2

..Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd

..Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa2

..Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Infosys Limited

..Long-term Local Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at A3

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.

..Long-term Local Currency and Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa1

..Long-term Local Currency and Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured MTN Program, affirmed at (P)Baa1

..Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: ONGC Videsh Limited

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa1

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency and Local Currency Senior Unsecured MTN Program, affirmed at (P)Baa1

. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte. Ltd.

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa1

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Oil India Limited

..Long-term Local Currency and Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa2

..Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

..Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Oil India International Pte. Ltd.

..Backed Long-term Foreign Currency Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, affirmed at Baa2

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Petronet LNG Limited

..Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at Baa2

..Outlook is revised to negative from stable

.Issuer: Tata Consultancy Services Limited

..Long-term Local Currency Issuer Rating, affirmed at A3

.. Outlook is revised to negative from stable