OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has assigned Long-Term Ratings of 'A' to Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) Hong Kong Branch's USD600m 1.875% notes due 2019, USD500m 2.375% notes due 2021 and USD900m floating rate notes due 2019 issued on 1 March 2016. The notes are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the proceeds will be used primarily to support BOC's overseas asset growth.

The notes are issued under BOC's USD20bn medium-term note (MTN) programme. The MTN programme was first rated 'A'/'F1' by Fitch on 9 December 2013, and subsequently affirmed on 10 July 2015. The size of the programme was increased to USD20bn from USD10bn on 18 June 2015 to support BOC's asset expansion.

The final rating is in line with the expected rating assigned on 22 Feb 2016 and follows the receipt of documents conforming to information previously received.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
Fitch sees BOC Hong Kong Branch as part of the same legal entity, BOC. Therefore, the notes issued under the MTN programme represent direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of BOC, and are rated in line with BOC's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'A'/Stable. The bank's IDR is underpinned by the agency's expectations of an extremely high probability of support from the Chinese government in the event of stress.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Any change to the ratings of the notes will be correlated directly with changes in BOC's IDR, which will in turn reflect any shift in the perceived willingness or ability of the government to support BOC in a full and timely manner.