S&P downgrades Romanian Transgaz for loans in RON

Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) cut the rating for the Romanian gas company Transgaz’s long-term loans in RON from BBB- to BB+. The rating for the company’s loans in foreign currency was confirmed to BB+ and both ratings have a stable outlook.

Transgaz is a company that has connections with the Romanian state, so a review of the country’s rating for loans in RON determines a similar decision for Transgaz, according to a S&P statement. Last week S&P cut the country’s local-currency rating from BBB-/ A-3 to BB+/B, with a stable outlook. S&P has also revised Transgaz’s individual rating from BBBB- to BBB+, which reflects the company’s high exposure in Romania, because of the monopole statute and the concentration of income on the local market. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)