KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) plans to issue up to RM15 billion in Islamic debt notes, says RAM Rating Services Bhd which has assigned a long-term rating of AA1 (with a stable outlook).
The rating agency said on Thursday, June 23 that SEB had proposed the Sukuk Musyarakah programme of up to RM15 billion.
SEB is a unit of the Sarawak Government and it has a monopoly over the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Sarawak.
'The rating is premised on this integral role and the strong support from both the State and Federal Governments.
'These strengths are however, moderated by demand risk arising in relation to the sizeable new generating capacity on the horizon and its expected impact on SEB's financial profile,' it said.
RAM Ratings said SEB's generating capacity is set to triple within a relatively short time, with Sarawak's electricity reserve margin expected to peak at 150% by 2012 (2010: 13%).
'SEB has to date secured buyers for roughly half of the new 3,011 MW of capacity coming on-stream by 2015. In the meantime, the remaining capacity is expected to be taken up by additional off-takers that are in negotiations with SEB,' it said.
To keep pace with the State's new-found energy needs under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), the group's debt load is projected to increase from RM2.51 billion as at end-December 2010 to RM16.69 billion by end-December 2013, at which point its gearing level is envisaged to peak at 4.27 times.
'In line with the expected lengthy gestation period for such endeavours, this will mark the beginning of a phase of weak financials, during which SEB's funds from operations debt coverage is anticipated to drop from 0.30 times as at end-2010 to a mere 0.06 times over the next few years,' it said.
The rating agency said on Thursday, June 23 that SEB had proposed the Sukuk Musyarakah programme of up to RM15 billion.
SEB is a unit of the Sarawak Government and it has a monopoly over the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Sarawak.
'The rating is premised on this integral role and the strong support from both the State and Federal Governments.
'These strengths are however, moderated by demand risk arising in relation to the sizeable new generating capacity on the horizon and its expected impact on SEB's financial profile,' it said.
RAM Ratings said SEB's generating capacity is set to triple within a relatively short time, with Sarawak's electricity reserve margin expected to peak at 150% by 2012 (2010: 13%).
'SEB has to date secured buyers for roughly half of the new 3,011 MW of capacity coming on-stream by 2015. In the meantime, the remaining capacity is expected to be taken up by additional off-takers that are in negotiations with SEB,' it said.
To keep pace with the State's new-found energy needs under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), the group's debt load is projected to increase from RM2.51 billion as at end-December 2010 to RM16.69 billion by end-December 2013, at which point its gearing level is envisaged to peak at 4.27 times.
'In line with the expected lengthy gestation period for such endeavours, this will mark the beginning of a phase of weak financials, during which SEB's funds from operations debt coverage is anticipated to drop from 0.30 times as at end-2010 to a mere 0.06 times over the next few years,' it said.
No comments:
Post a Comment