S&P raises credit rating on RIL to 'BBB-plus'

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday raised the long term corporate credit rating on Reliance Industries to "BBB-plus" from "BBB", with a "negative" outlook, it said in a statement.

"Reliance's articulation of its growth strategy removes the uncertainty regarding the company's use of its high cash balance," Standard & Poor's Credit Analyst Andrew Wong said.

Reliance has outlined plans to spend about $30 billion over the next few years, nearly 75 percent of this in its core energy businesses of refining, petrochemical, and exploration and production (E&P).

The company held cash reserves of about $15 billion at March-end.

S&P said the negative outlook on Reliance reflected the outlook on India's sovereign credit rating of "BBB-minus" with a "negative" outlook.

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Anand Basu)