Moody's assigns Ba2 rating to JSW Steel; outlook stable

Kolkata: Moody's has assigned a Ba2 rating to JSW Steel proposed senior unsecured bonds. The rating outlook is stable.

The bond rating is the same as JSW's Ba2 corporate family rating (CFR) and the Ba2 rating on the company's existing senior unsecured notes.

Moody's said JSW's Ba2 CFR reflects the company's large scale, strong market shares in West and South India, and competitive conversion costs, with the last factor supported by the company's wide range of furnace technologies and the coastal locations of its operations.


The proposed bonds will rank pari-passu to the company's $500 million senior unsecured bonds maturing in November 2019 and the $500 million senior unsecured bonds maturing in April 2022.

As at December 2017, JSW's secured debt constituted 53% of total debt, down from 71% in March 2014. With the proposed bond issuance, Moody's expects that the proportion of secured debt to total debt will fall further.