Fitch Ratings has upgraded JSC Ukrainian Railway (also known as Ukrzaliznytsia, or UZ) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'B' from 'B-'.
"The upgrade of UR's Long-Term IDRs follows the sovereign upgrade and ratings equalisation with Ukraine, which is unchanged since our last review," Fitch said in a statement on its website on September 12.
"This is based on the company's SCP [Standalone Credit Profile] assessment of 'b' combined with Fitch's application of a top-down approach under its GRE [Government-Related Entity] Criteria and warrants UR's rating equalisation with the sovereign."
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"Fitch Ratings, following the sovereign [upgrade], has upgraded Ukrzaliznytsia's rating. It's 'B,' and it is UZ that is the first Ukrainian state-owned company to secure such upgrading from a leading rating agency," CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov wrote on Facebook in a comment.
According to him, the Ukrainian government has taken a number of systemic and professional steps. "Thanks to this, Ukraine, and then the company, received a credit rating upgrade. We are giving a positive signal to investors, especially in the context of opportunities to raise additional financing for the modernization and development of the railways," he said.
