Fitch downgrades Optus

Fitch Ratings said it lowered Singtel Optus Pty Ltd.'s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating to BBB+ from A- and removed them from under criteria observation.

The agency also affirmed Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.'s (Singtel) long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings and senior unsecured rating at A. Singtel wholly owns Optus.

“The downgrade of Optus' ratings follows publication of Fitch's updated parent and subsidiary linkage (PSL) rating criteria on Dec. 1, 2021. Under the new criteria, Optus follows the ‘stronger parent’ path and benefits from parental support from Singtel, which results in Optus being rated on a top-down basis and one notch down from Singtel's stand-alone credit profile (SCP) of a-. The rating change on Optus solely reflects the change in Fitch's view of the implied parental support following the change in the PSL rating criteria, rather than a change in Optus' stand-alone credit strength,” Fitch said in a press release.

The outlook is stable.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.