Fitch rates Kogas bond AA-

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an expected senior unsecured rating of AA- to Korea Gas Corp.'s (Kogas) proposed dollar-denominated bond.

The bond will be issued under the company's global medium-term note program, which is also rated AA-.

The company also said it upsized the program to $8 billion from $5 billion. The rating on the program is unchanged, Fitch said.

Kogas will use the net proceeds from the bond to refinance existing debt and for general corporate purposes, the agency said.

The notes are rated at the same level as Kogas's senior unsecured rating as they represent direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the company, Fitch said.

The ratings are equalized with Korea's sovereign rating due to their strong strategic and operational ties, the agency said.

The ratings also consider the company's status as an important state-owned enterprise in the country with a dominant position in the natural gas business through its monopoly in the wholesale gas segment and its ownership of the country's entire gas transmission infrastructure, Fitch said.

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