BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic's (SOCAR) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the IDR and senior unsecured rating at 'BB+', Trend reports October 28 citing Fitch.
The Recovery Rating is 'RR4'.
The rating actions follow the revision of the Outlook on Azerbaijan's sovereign rating (BB+/Positive) and SOCAR's stronger credit profile, which could lead to an upward revision of its Standalone Credit Profile (SCP).
“SOCAR is fully owned by the state and its rating is currently equalised with that of Azerbaijan under Fitch's Government-Related Entities (GRE) Rating Criteria. This is underpinned by state support provided to the company in the form of financial guarantees, cash contributions and equity injections, as well as SOCAR's social functions and its importance as a state vehicle for the development of oil and gas projects. We assess SOCAR's SCP at 'b+',” said the rating agency.
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