LONDON (Standard & Poor's) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'AA-' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term senior unsecured debt ratings to the $1 billion CP program of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA; AA-/Stable/A-1+).
The company is expected to issue CP under the program for general corporate purposes, with maturities of up to 397 days. Back-up liquidity support to the program is provided through existing cash balances (TAQA held $1.7 billion in cash at June 30, 2007) at the company and a revolving credit facility from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (A+/Stable/A-1).
Although there are no formal guarantees, we factor implicit sovereign support into the ratings on TAQA, reflecting its importance to the Emirate and its status as a government-related entity. This reflects the company's position as a key entity in the economy of Abu Dhabi as the majority owner in critical power and water desalination assets, and its importance as a national vehicle for global investment and public policy. In addition, the company is 75% owned by the state or its related entities.
Ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. It can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select Ratings in the left navigation bar, then Credit Ratings Search. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's numbers: Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office Hotline (44) 20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm (46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow (7) 495-783-4017. Members of the media may also contact the European Press Office via e-mail on: media_europe@standardandpoors.com.
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© Press Release 2007
