Fitch affirms Samruk-Kazyna at 'BBB' with stable outlookFitch Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC's (SK) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB' with Stable Outlook, the rating agency said in a press release.“The affirmation reflects our view of 'Virtually Certain' extraordinary support from Kazakhstan (BBB/Stable) under our government-related entities (GRE) criteria, given SK's role as the state's strategic policy arm,” the press release says.This leads to the equalisation of SK's ratings with those of the sovereign, according to Fitch.“We see 'Virtually Certain' extraordinary support from Kazakhstan to SK, reflecting a support score of 55, out of a maximum 60, under Fitch GRE Criteria,” the rating agency said.SK plans to partially privatise several of its subsidiaries in the medium term, while remaining a majority shareholder with at least 75% of the shares in most cases. Fitch believes that privatisation will be limited and will not materially affect SK's status and Kazakhstan's control over its operations in the foreseeable future, according to Fitch.At end-2024 SK's total debt at group level totalled 11 trillion tenge (by nominal value), about 8% of GDP. At the parent level, SK's primary revenue source, dividends from subsidiaries and joint ventures, rose to 556 billion tenge in 2024 compared with 514 billion tenge in 2023. KMG and Kazatomprom remained the main dividend payers, Fitch said.Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC, organized in 2008, owns and operates strategic assets of Kazakhstan, including Air Astana, Kazakhtelecom, Kazatomprom, KazMunayGas, KazPost, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, KEGOC and others. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX