BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 21. Fitch Ratings has assigned Uzbekistan's Uzagroleasing Joint Stock Company (UAL) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of 'B+' with Stable Outlook, Trend reports via Fitch Ratings.
"The ratings reflect Fitch's view of UAL's links with Uzbekistan (BB-/Stable), given its role as key provider of leasing solutions to national agribusinesses. The assessment of support rating factors under Fitch's Government-Related Entities (GRE) Criteria resulted in a score of 35 out of a maximum 60, which combined with a Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) of 'ccc+', leads to UAL's IDR being one notch below Uzbekistan's sovereign rating," the report said.
Thus, Fitch Ratings has affirmed UAL's status, ownership and control as 'very strong', the support track record also as 'very strong', while the company's financial implications of default were assessed as 'moderate'.
"UAL has an adequate franchise with dominant market share within agricultural leasing (around 90%), with a business model focused on leasing agricultural vehicles and machinery. UAL's franchise and policy role benefits from the importance of the domestic agricultural sector, particularly as a major contributor to the country's GDP and total employment. We assume UAL's policy role restricts its business model, while its non-profit oriented nature impacts the financial profile," Fitch said.