OREANDA-NEWS. September 21, 2015.  Fitch Ratings says that the plan by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC to acquire all the shares it does not own in Greenko Mauritius (Greenko) is beneficial for Greenko's profile, but will not immediately change the agency's assessment of the renewable energy company's credit profile.

GIC has a 19.5% stake in Greenko, the indirect holding company of the Greenko Group's operating assets. The rest is held by AIM-listed Greenko Group Plc (67.8%), which is largely owned by institutional investors, and the Global Environment Emerging Markets Fund (12.7%).

Fitch believes GIC's move will improve Greenko's access to banking and capital markets. We also believe GIC will drive tighter risk management practices and financial policies at Greenko. Fitch believes that these will benefit the company, with the effects showing in its operating and financial profiles over time. We expect Greenko to remain an important entity for GIC to tap renewable power generation opportunities in India.

However, we are not providing any uplift in our assessment of Greenko's profile for GIC's increased ownership in Greenko, given the limited operational and strategic linkages between the two entities as per Fitch's Parent and Subsidiary Linkage methodology. We expect GIC to be a long-term investor in Greenko, but our assessment also takes into account GIC's large assets under management and its value-driven investment philosophy as a sovereign wealth fund.

As a result, Fitch assesses that the rating of 'B' on Greenko Dutch B.V.'s USD550m notes will remain unchanged. Greenko Dutch B.V. used the note proceeds to invest in Indian rupee-denominated bonds issued by some of the operating entities that have combined generation capacity of 619MW.

For more details for the key rating drivers and sensitivities for the rating on Greenko Dutch B.V.'s USD550m notes, refer to the rating action commentary "Fitch Affirms Greenko's USD550m Notes at 'B'" on 30 July 2015.