Share
| Approximately USD 270 million of debt affected Moody's Investors Service has placed its A3 issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings on The Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link") under review for possible upgrade. "The review has been prompted by Link's resilience in the 2008/09 down market, as evidenced by ongoing growth in revenue and high occupancy rates," says Peter Choy, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer. "Link is enjoying steady positive rental reversion that has improved its credit metrics -- for an EBITDA/interest of 5.5x and a Debt/EBITDA of 3.4x as of March 31, 2010," says Choy, adding that, "such a financial profile is strong for its A3 ratings in comparison to its regional and global peers." "Liquidity is good, and the company has improved its capital structure by lengthening its debt maturity profile and putting in place committed bank facilities." In its review, Moody's will focus on Link's ability to sustain its current credit profile in the medium term. The last rating action on Link was taken on March 12, 2010, when Moody's assigned an A3 rating to the HKD300 million, 10-year fixed-rate notes issued by The Link Finance (Cayman) 2009 Limited, a wholly owned financing subsidiary of Link Real Estate Investment Trust. The rating outlook is stable. The principal methodology used in rating Link was Moody's Rating Methodology for REITs and Other Commercial Property Firms, published in July 2010 and available on www.moodys.com in the Rating Methodologies sub-directory under the Research & Ratings tab. Other methodologies and factors that may have been considered in the process of rating this issuer can also be found in the Rating Methodologies sub-directory on Moody's website. The Link Real Estate Investment Trust listed in Hong Kong in November 2005. It owns and manages 149 integrated retail and car park facilities, 2 stand-alone retail facilities and 29 stand-alone car parks. |