LAHORE, May 2: The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (Pacra) has maintained the long-term entity rating of Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd (ECPL) at “AA-” (double A minus) and the short-term rating at “A1+” (A one plus). A Pacra announcement said on Monday the ratings were applicable to senior unsecured creditors and denoted a very low expectation of credit risk and a very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

The second TFC tranche of Rs1 billion, with redemption scheduled for May 27, 2005, has been assigned a short-term rating of “A1+” (A one plus). The rating denoted the highest capacity for timely repayment. ECPL’s ratings reflected the maintained overall risk profile in a favourable industrial scenario emanating from consistently rising fertilizer demand despite the uncertainty of the government’s gas pricing policy, the announcement said.

The consistent augmentation of the bottom line through growing dividends from associated companies combined with ECPL’s strategy of further diversified growth was also considered positive, it said. In addition, Pacra said, the critical nature of the fertilizer industry in the economy and Engro’s strong position in the industry were also key factors.