Fitch revises Bharti Airtel outlook to negative; affirms at ‘BBB-‘

Mumbai: Fitch Ratings on Monday revised the outlook on telecom major Bharti AirtelNSE -0.03 %’s long-term foreign-currency (FC) issuer default rating (IDR) to negative from stable, and affirmed the IDR at ‘BBB-‘.

The ratings agency said the negative outlook follows its revision of the outlook on India’s long-term foreign- and local-currency IDRs to negative from stable on June 18.

Fitch also affirmed Bharti Airtel’s senior unsecured rating and Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V.’s senior unsecured guaranteed bonds at ‘BBB-‘, and Network i2i Limited’s subordinated perpetual bond’s rating at ‘BB’.

It said Bharti Airtel’s FC IDR and senior issue ratings are not directly constrained by India’s sovereign rating but cannot exceed the country ceiling (BBB-), which reflects the transfer and convertibility risks associated with FC obligations.