S&P Upgrades Ratings on Indian State-Owned Firms after Sovereign Upgrade

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday upgraded its long-term credit ratings on several Indian companies, mainly state-owned, to BBB from BBB-, following its upgrade of India’s sovereign credit rating to BBB with a stable outlook.

The issuer credit ratings of Export-Import Bank of India, Indian Railway Finance Corp., Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd., NTPC Ltd. and Tata Power Co. Ltd. were all raised to BBB from BBB-. The outlook on all these companies is stable.

S&P also upgraded the issue ratings on the debt issued or guaranteed by ONGC, Power Grid and NTPC to BBB from BBB-.
It said the outlook on EXIM Bank reflects continued government support to promote international trade over the next three to five years, while the stable outlook on IRFC is backed by guarantees, budgetary support and lease agreements from the government.

The sovereign rating upgrade marks S&P as the first major agency to raise India’s long-term unsolicited rating to BBB, citing the economy’s resilience and sustained fiscal consolidation.