S&P affirms Rusnano long-term "BB" rating
MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - Standard & Poor's has affirmed its 'BB/B' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings and 'ruAA' Russia national scale rating on Russian state-owned technology investment vehicle Rusnano, the agency said in a statement.
The outlook is negative.
"The ratings reflect our opinion that there is a 'high' likelihood that the government of the Russian Federation (foreign currency BBB-/Negative/A-3; local currency BBB/Stable/A-2; Russia national scale ruAAA/--/--) would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to Rusnano in the event of financial distress. They also incorporate its stand-alone credit profile (SACP), which we now assess at 'b' versus 'b+' previously," the agency said.
"Rusnano receives strong ongoing support from the Russian government in the form of conditional non-timely guarantees on all currently issued debt," it said.
"The ratings on Rusnano are three notches higher than its 'b' SACP, which we have revised down from 'b+' on continued losses that have led to weaker capitalization."
"The negative outlook reflects that on Russia but also risks related to the weak financial performance that we think Rusnano will deliver in the next two or three years. Taking into account Rusnano's current SACP of 'b', we would lower the rating on Rusnano if we lowered our local currency ratings on Russia."
"We could take a negative rating action on Rusnano if we observed continued very weak performance of its investment portfolio, leading to pronounced losses and depletion of capital. Much larger-than-expected borrowings and strong deterioration in Rusnano's liquidity could also prompt a negative rating action. In addition, we could lower our ratings on Rusnano within the next 12 months if we observed signs of a lower likelihood of timely and sufficient extraordinary support from the government."