Fitch assigns highest rating to SAIL's long-term debt

Global rating agency Fitch has assigned the highest national credit-quality rating to the steel maker SAIL's long-term debt programme of Rs 2,000 crore.

"Fitch Ratings has today assigned Steel Authority of India Ltd's (SAIL) proposed Rs 2,000 crore long-term bond programme a national rating of 'AAA(ind)'," the agency said in a note today.
     
Though the rating is not internationally comparable, 'AAA' with additional country identifier of '(ind)' for India signifies the best risk within the country. It denotes the highest rating assigned in Fitch's national rating scale.
     
"Simultaneously, the agency has affirmed SAIL's national long-term rating at AAA (ind) with a stable outlook," it said.
     
The agency said its national ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with relatively low international sovereign ratings. The best risk within a country is 'AAA' and other credits are rated only relative to this risk.
     
Fitch has affirmed SAIL's existing Rs 2,000 crore long-term bond programme at 'AAA (ind)' and its proposed Rs 1,000 crore term deposit programme at 'tAAA(ind)', indicating best risk among term deposits in India.