{"id":777006201,"date":"2023-06-13T07:21:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T10:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777006201"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:02:20","slug":"moodys-downgrades-nagacorp-corporate-family-rating-to-b3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/moodys-downgrades-nagacorp-corporate-family-rating-to-b3","title":{"rendered":"Moody\u2019s downgrades NagaCorp corporate family rating to B3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The decision was due to he company’s “lack of refinancing progress”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Cambodia.- Moody\u2019s Investor Services has downgraded the corporate family rating <\/strong>of NagaCorp Ltd from ‘B2’ to ‘B3’ due to the company’s “lack of refinancing progress for its US$472m bond coming due in July 2024. The bond forms all of the company\u2019s debt in its capital structure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moody\u2019s analyst\u00a0Yu Sheng Tay\u00a0<\/strong>said: “Despite NagaCorp having reduced its discretionary spending, its ability to repay the bond depends on the pace of earnings recovery, which currently remains uncertain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moody\u2019s downgraded its senior unsecured rating of NagaCorp\u2019s US dollar bond from \u2018B2\u2019 to \u2018B3\u2019. It added that its rating outlook for the casino operator has changed to \u2018negative\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next 18 months, NagaCorp’s discretionary spending will decrease. Earlier this month, the company announced that it has decided to push back its Naga 3 project<\/a> <\/strong>in Phnom Penh by four years to 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to this, the casino operator expects to “spend less than US$50m on development capital expenditure in 2023, compared with the company\u2019s previous guidance of US$100m to US$125m.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, analysts stressed the company’s ability to meet its bond repayment obligations depends on the pace of its earnings recovery, which remains uncertain. Moody’s analysts anticipated a progressive improvement in NagaCorp’s earnings within the next 18 months, aligning with the revival of Cambodia’s tourism sector and\u00a0the return of Chinese tourists<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Moody’s estimations, NagaCorp could generate EBITDA ranging between US$350m and US$370m in 2023, followed by a projected increase to US$485m in 2024. However, a slower-than-anticipated recovery may exert pressure on the company’s liquidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NagaCorp benefits from exclusive rights to operate casinos in and around Cambodia’s capital until 20245. Nonetheless, the credit rating reflects its reliance on a single-site operation<\/strong> and exposure to potential political risks and Cambodia’s evolving regulatory landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the first quarter of 2023,\u00a0NagaCorp<\/a>\u00a0reported EBITDA of merely US$59m, primarily attributed to reduced win rates and escalating staff expenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The decision was due to he company’s “lack of refinancing progress”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":18779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Moody's Investor Services has downgraded NagaCorp Ltd's corporate family rating to 'B3' and its senior unsecured rating to 'B3', with a 'negative' outlook, citing a lack of refinancing progress for its US$472m bond due July 2024. This downgrade reflects concerns over the pace of earnings recovery, despite reduced discretionary spending and the deferral of the Naga 3 project. The company's liquidity remains sensitive to tourism recovery and its single-site operational exposure in Cambodia.","focusai_entities":"Moody's Investor Services, NagaCorp Ltd, Yu Sheng Tay","focusai_location":"Cambodia, Phnom Penh","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.7), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"NagaCorp Refinancing Strategy","query":"What specific refinancing strategies is NagaCorp exploring to address the US$472m bond maturity in July 2024, and what are the contingency plans if current efforts remain insufficient?"},{"label":"Naga 3 Project Impact","query":"How will the four-year deferral of the Naga 3 project impact NagaCorp's long-term growth trajectory, market positioning, and capital expenditure efficiency beyond the immediate liquidity benefits?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16333],"tags":[2336],"class_list":["post-777006201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-nagacorp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777006201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777006236,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006201\/revisions\/777006236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777006201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777006201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777006201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}