Kuwait Financial Centre – Issue Rating Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the ‘BBB’ issue rating assigned to Kuwait Financial Centre’s (Markaz; the issuer) KWD35mn or USD equivalent 5-Year Senior Unsecured Bond. The Outlook on the rating remains Stable.

The issue rating is driven by Markaz’s resilient financial metrics in terms of both liquidity and debt profile with the latter improving in 2023 through a significant reduction of bank borrowings. Other supporting factors are the good debt maturity profile, the high level of unencumbered assets and the maintenance of substantial unutilised – but committed – funding lines. The rating also reflects the issuer’s well-established franchise and good reputation in the region, especially in Kuwait. The experienced management team has demonstrated its ability to effectively navigate the Company through many challenging operating environments and market cycles. As the bond does not contain any structural credit…