03 Sep, 2017
SINGAPORE and DELHI, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 CRISIL (a subsidiary of Standard and Poor’s), on August 30, 2017 has assigned a credit rating of AAA (SO) (Triple A) to the INR 192 crores credit facilities of Mahua Bharatpur Expressways Limited (MBEL), a subsidiary of Cube Highways and Infrastructure Pte. Ltd. The rating has been upgraded from AA (Double A).
As a result of this rating upgrade, MBEL has become the first NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) toll road project to have secured AAA (SO) rating in India. AAA (SO) rating reflects the highest level of safety to debt holders in a given project. A copy of this rating rationale can be accessed here.
According to the rating rationale, the upgrade reflects the strong fundamentals of the road -- healthy traffic growth potential, strategic location, efficiently managed operations, strong debt protection metrics and an experienced management team. The 'SO' suffix indicates tight escrow mechanism with a well-defined payment waterfall mechanism and creation of major maintenance reserve (MMR) and debt service reserve account (DSRA).
This rating underlines Cube Highways’ investment strategy of selectively acquiring key operating highways in India and, post-acquisition, executing operational improvements using its in-house engineering and operational talent. The AAA rating opens up new financing options such as bonds or capital markets etc.
MBEL (known earlier as Madhucon Agra-Jaipur Expressways Limited) is a company which operates the 57 km stretch on NH-21 between Bharatpur and Mahua (connecting the two key tourist destinations of Agra and Jaipur) on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis.
About Cube Highways: Cube Highways and Infrastructure Pte. Ltd. (Cube Highways) is a Singapore based company investing in road and highway projects, along with select other infrastructure sectors in India. Cube Highways is an independent, professionally-managed platform that leverages the extensive transportation experience of its management advisory and execution teams. The company owns and operates nearly 1,300 lane-kilometers of toll roads. Cube Highways was formed by two leading global financial institutions, I Squared Capital and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
About I Squared Capital: I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities, and transport in North America, Europe, and select high growth economies. The Firm has offices in New York, Houston, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Contact: Andreas Moon, Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations, I Squared Capital, +1 (212) 339-5339, andreas.moon@isquaredcapital.com