Mubasher: Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Ba2 long-term issuer rating of Kuwait Investment Company (KIC) and revised the outlook on the rating to stable, from negative, according to the rating agency report issued on Tuesday.
The affirmation reflects Moody's views that the fundamental credit profile of KIC continues to reflect the company's profitable business model, access to low cost deposits and a low level of net debt to equity, and that KIC's main shareholder, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), will remain supportive of KIC during the planned divestiture process.
These strengths are counterbalanced by the company’s high exposure to market risk, high level of debt compared to earnings and narrow asset management franchise, the report added.
The stable outlook on KIC's rating reflects Moody's expectation that the divestiture process will take longer than expected and will likely not conclude before the end of 2017.
