Lianhe Ratings Global Limited (“Lianhe Global”) has affirmed ‘A-’ global scale Long-term Issuer and Issuance Credit Rating to Qingdao City Construction Investment (Group) Limited (“QCCI”). Outlook Revised to Positive.
The Issuer Credit Rating reflects a high possibility that Shandong’s Qingdao municipal government (“Qingdao government”) would provide strong support to QCCI if needed, in light of the Qingdao government’s full ownership of QCCI, the high strategic importance of QCCI to Qingdao and the increasingly strong linkage between the Qingdao government and QCCI, including management supervision, strategic alignment, and ongoing operational and financial support. In addition, the Qingdao government may face a significant negative impact on its reputation and business and financing activities should QCCI encounter any operational or financial difficulties.
The Positive Outlook reflects QCCI’s increasing strategic importance to and linkage with the Qingdao government, and our expectation that such would remain intact while the Qingdao government will continue to ensure QCCI’s stable operation. QCCI, under the Qingdao government’s mandate, took on a number of key strategic assets in 2020, in addition to undertaking various major businesses including infrastructure construction, primary land and property development, and financial services to support the economic development in Qingdao. We view such initiatives as a reflection of a strengthening relationship between QCCI and the Qingdao government.