Moody’s assigns Aa2 rating with stable outlook to APICORP 

RIYADH: Affirming the strong business profile of the Arab Petroleum Investments Corp., global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has assigned the company a long-term issuer rating of Aa2 with a stable outlook.

The move reflects APICORP’s ample liquidity driven by its well-diversified funding structure and shareholder support, according to a press statement.  

Aa2 is the third-highest long-term credit rating that Moody’s assigns to high-quality fixed-income securities with very low credit risk. The rating also indicates the company’s high ability to repay short-term debts.  

“Despite credit challenges, including the geopolitical environment in borrower countries and high portfolio and shareholder risks arising from the global carbon transition, APICORP’s asset quality remains unaffected thanks to its strong corporate governance and risk management practices,” said Moody’s.  

Mehdi Rizvi, acting chief risk officer and head of credit risk at APICORP, said that the rating given by Moody’s indicates the company’s strong governance and risk management caliber.  

“We are proud that Moody’s has reaffirmed our Aa2 rating. In line with our strategy, we are committed to transforming our current credit-negative exposure to the global carbon transition into a credit-positive exposure by potentially expanding our portfolio in carbon-reducing sectors over time,” explained Rizvi.  

In addition to Moody’s Aa2 rating, APICORP also holds ratings of AA and AA- from Fitch and S&P Global, respectively.  

APICORP, which is a multilateral lender focused on the energy sector, had reported a net income of $164 million in 2022, up 40 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Last year, APICORP’s investment portfolio assets grew by $191 million to $1.2 billion.  

In 2022, the lender’s gross operating income also rose by 62 percent year on year to $198 million, reflecting an 8 percent increase above the budgeted income. 

Headquartered in Alkhobar, APICORP is owned by the 10 member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. 

It was set up in 1975 to extend financial support to Arab countries in the energy sector.