DOHA: International credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services affirmed Industries Qatar’s (IQ) long term rating at “AA-“ with a stable outlook, while Moody’s updated its credit opinion on IQ’s rating to “Aa3” with a stable outlook yesterday.
IQ, one of the region’s industrial giants with interests in the production of a wide range of petrochemical, fertiliser and steel products, announced that International credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Services (MIS) has updated its credit opinion and maintains Aa3 rating with a Stable outlook.
MIS updated its credit opinion based on their annual review of IQ’s current and future financial and operational performance and has considered several factors in assigning and maintaining the current rating and outlook including the company’s liquidity profile, robust cash flow generation ability, strong competitive market position, greater integration with the parent entity and its close relationship with the government of State of Qatar.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings) has affirmed its AA- long term rating with a stable outlook, IQ noted in a separate statement.
The ratings that Industries Qatar (IQ) received from Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) showed its strong performance and solvency, market analysts said.
Maintaining these positive ratings shows the company’s strong position, despite IQ’s low profits and reserves and falling oil prices, business and finance portal “Mubasher” reported.
The ratings are of interest for the investor rather than the speculator as they give a future outlook in the long run.
The company’s stock is about to rise for the fourth session in a row as it gained 1.23 percent to QR 1.70 by 12:00pm Doha time. Trading volume reached 63,590 million shares at a turnover of QR9m.
The Peninsula
New York: The death toll from defective General Motors ignition switches climbed to 117 in the latest report on approved damages payouts from the automaker’s independent compensation fund.
When the compensation fund, run by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, was set up nearly a year ago, GM had recognized 13 deaths linked to the ignition-switch flaw.
Sixteen death claims remain under review, the fund said.
GM knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade before it began recalling 2.6 million cars worldwide in February 2014.
The defective switches can cause the ignition to unintentionally switch out of the “on” position, disabling airbags and other functions. In the latest update, the fund said 354 claims for fatalities and injuries were eligible for compensation out of the total 4,342 claims it had received.
There were at least 13 confirmed cases of crippling injuries, such as brain damage or double amputation, and 27 such claims were still under review.
AFP
