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Moody’s Investors Service has assigned Aa2 senior unsecured rating to the $10 billion, three tranche bond issued by the Government of Abu Dhabi on September 23.
Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.
Abu Dhabi issued $3 billion in five-year bonds, $3 billion in 10-year and $4 billion in 30-year notes, Reuters reported.
BNP Paribas, Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and MUFG are the joint lead managers and bookrunners for the 144A Reg S senior unsecured bonds, according to the report.
The Aa2 rating is at the same level as the long-term issuer rating of the Government of Abu Dhabi.
The rating is supported by “Abu Dhabi's "Very High (-)" economic strength derived from an exceptionally high GDP per capita, very large hydrocarbon reserves, and superior infrastructure,” Moody’s said in a statement.
“The rating also reflects the "High (+)" institutional strength, taking into account the emirate's strong institutional framework and effectiveness, which is counterbalanced by high inflation volatility and significant transparency issues,” the statement added.
Moody’s said that Abu Dhabi's exceptionally strong balance sheet supports the "Very High (+)" fiscal strength score with assets worth an estimated 233 percent of GDP.
(Writing by Gerard Aoun, editing by Seban Scaria)
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