Fitch affirms Bharti Airtel at ‘BBB-‘; outlook negative

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bharti Airtel’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB-‘.

The outlook on the IDR is negative, Fitch Ratings said in a statement.

Fitch has also affirmed Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV’s senior unsecured guaranteed bonds at ‘BBB-‘ and Network i2i Limited’s subordinated perpetual bond at ‘BB’.

“The negative outlook does not reflect our view of Bharti’s underlying credit profile – which has been improving on strong growth in Indian and African wireless operations – but rather the heightened probability that India’s (BBB-/Negative) Country Ceiling of ‘BBB-‘ could be lowered to ‘BB+’,” the statement said.

“Such an action would constrain Bharti’s IDR and senior issue ratings to BB+,” it added.

Fitch has affirmed Bharti Airtel’s long-term foreign currency IDR and senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB-‘, the statement noted.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor