Vedanta, the natural resources company controlled by Anil Agarwal said its foreign subsidiary Cairn India Holdings’ $200 million investment in Anglo American met all governance requirements. The company, India’s largest miner and No. 1 iron ore exporter, said the deal was made on an arms-length basis in December 2018, adding it provided “significantly higher” returns compared […]
Rating agency Moody’s has sounded a note of caution that any reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel would adversely affect fiscal deficit unless it is matched by a commensurate cut in expenditure. Pressure has been mounting on the Indian government to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to bring down their prices […]
Outlook for steel companies in Asia through 2018 is stable because profitability will be steady during this period, after improving significantly in 2017, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report. “The likely stable profitability for Asian steelmakers that we rate is underpinned by the removal of excess steel-production capacity in China and broadly steady demand […]
Moody’s Investors Service said it had changed the ratings outlook on Tata Steel Ltd. and Tata Steel UK Holdings Limited (TSUKH) to stable from negative. “The change in the ratings outlook to stable from negative reflects our expectation that the benign operating environment and recovery in the financial performance of TSUKH and Tata Steel over […]
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.’s (ONGC) planned acquisition of a majority stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) will cause the Indian energy major’s leverage to approach the upper limit of its Baa1 rating, Moody’s Investors Service has said in a report. ONGC’s strategic importance to the Indian government will also increase, given that […]
Sri Lanka’s significant borrowing requirements and heavy reliance on external and foreign-currency funding exposes the country to material liquidity and external financing risk, which weighs on its credit profile, Moody’s Investors Service said. Despite a recent increase in foreign exchange reserves, reserve coverage of external obligations remains low, Moody’s said, warning that unless reserves rise […]
The outlook for the Asian oil refining and marketing (R&M) sector is stable, with the EBITDA of rated companies growing a modest 5% through 2018, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report. “Driven by China’s and India’s appetite for petroleum products and continued capacity rationalization, we believe refining margins will remain firm, thereby supporting the […]
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) lowered China’s sovereign credit rating due to risks associated with its increasing debt, but said its long-term outlook for the country remained “stable”, triggering a volley of criticism from Beijing. The credit rating agency cut China’s credit rating from A+ to AA-, putting it in the same category as […]
India’s three major state-held oil refining and marketing firms—Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — are slated to increase borrowings to keep their large dividend payments and high capital spend, said Moody’s Investors Service. “These companies’ large dividend payments and high capital spending levels will keep their credit […]
Both Tanazania and South Africa’s mining sectors seem to be heading into a crisis zone. Mining in Tanzania has been in chaos over the past few months after the government started stringent punitive measures on local gold, copper and gems producers. Last week Tanzania’s government completed a review of the mining sector — and found […]