Riyadh: ACWA Power Investment & Management One Ltd. (“APMI One”) as the issuer is pleased to announce that Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) has assigned the 814 MUSD 5.95% p.a. senior secured Bonds due 2039 (“ACWA 39”) a ‘BBB-‘ rating with a ‘Stable’ outlook.

The Bond, issued in May 2017 by ACWA Power’s wholly owned DIFC-incorporated subsidiary, APMI1 One, is secured by cash flows and other security from a diversified cross-section of eight ACWA Power projects in Saudi Arabia as well as from NOMAC, ACWA Power’s wholly owned operations & maintenance company. Being strategically located in the western and eastern provinces of the Kingdom, each of these eight assets is critical to Saudi Arabia’s power and water infrastructure. At the time of its issuance, ACWA 39 was the largest and the first investment grade private sector dollar bond offering by a private sector KSA company.

ACWA 39 carried two Investment Grade (“IG”) ratings assigned by both Moody’s and S&P until October 2019 when S&P rating was brought down by one notch as a result of S&P’s legal jurisdiction review of Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”) , effectively creating a split-rating situation for ACWA 39.     

With full confidence in the strength of underlying business fundamentals of ACWA 39’s portfolio, ACWA Power’s response has been to approach Fitch to obtain a new rating for the Bond. Following their review, Fitch publicly announced in February 2020 APMI One’s ACWA 39 Bond’s ‘BBB-‘ rating with ‘Stable’ outlook.

Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at ACWA Power, commenting on this development, said: “We are pleased to have fulfilled ACWA Power’s commitment to the Bondholders by fixing the split rating situation created by S&P’s jurisdiction-ranking action. Fitch’s IG rating reaffirms the robust structure and the debt-service quality of APMI One’s diversified portfolio.” Mr. Nanda continued: “ACWA 39 has provided us with the ideal launch platform for our upcoming project and corporate finance needs for which RegS/144A and other international issuances as well as those in Saudi Arabia’s Debt Capital Market will be our mainstay.”   

Kashif Rana, Chief Financial Officer at ACWA Power, added: “APMI One has maintained a stellar financial performance since the 2017 issuance, consistently outperforming the 2017 base case on an overall portfolio basis. Given our unwavering focus on optimization of operational performance as well as on value-addition, this is not at all a surprising outcome for us.”

APMI One’s ACWA 39 Bond currently has 2 IG ratings with Fitch’s “BBB-’ and Moody’s ‘Baa3’, both with ‘Stable’ outlook. Subsequently, APMI One has withdrawn related ratings with S&P.

-Ends-

About ACWA Power:

ACWA Power is a developer, investor and operator of power generation and desalinated water production plants. Currently present in 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia, ACWA Power employs over 3,500 people with about 60% local employment.

ACWA Power’s portfolio includes 56 assets with an investment value of USD 45.5 billion, producing 31 GW of power and 5.2 million m3 /day of desalinated water delivered on a bulk basis to address the needs of state utilities on long-term, off-taker contracts under Public-Private-Partnership model.

Registered and established in 2004 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power is co-owned by nine Saudi conglomerates, including Vision International Investment Company, Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Public Pensions Agency and the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group).

ACWA Power’s mission is to reliably deliver electricity and desalinated water at a low cost, thereby contributing effectively to the sustainable, social and economic development of communities and countries. ACWA Power is committed to the values of Safety, People and Performance in operating its business across all geographies. For more info, please visit www.acwapower.com

Media contact details:

Mohamed Yousef Ibrahim
Manager – Marketing & Public Relations
mibrahim@acwapower.com
+966(0)556607402
Tags: #ACWAPower

© Press Release 2020

Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.

The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.