Fitch Ratings has assigned a final rating of 'A' to Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch's (BOCOM HK Branch, A/Stable) senior unsecured notes.

The CNY200 million 1.85% note is due in 2028. The net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The final rating is in line with the expected rating assigned on 31 July 2025, and follows the receipt of final documents conforming to the information already received.

Key Rating Drivers

BOCOM HK Branch is part of the same legal entity as Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. (BOCOM, A/Stable). Therefore, the notes will represent BOCOM's direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and they are rated in line with its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR).

BOCOM's IDR is underpinned by Fitch's expectation of a very high probability of support from the Chinese sovereign (A/Stable) in the event of stress. Key rating drivers and sensitivities for BOCOM can be found in the rating action commentary published on 16 May 2025.

Rating Sensitivities

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade

The rating on the notes would be downgraded if BOCOM HK Branch's Long-Term IDR is downgraded.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade

The rating on the notes would be upgraded if BOCOM HK Branch's Long-Term IDR is upgraded.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

Fitch has assigned a senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs) of 'BB+(xgs)' to the notes, in line with BOCOM HK branch's Long-Term IDR (xgs), which is in turn aligned with BOCOM's Viability Rating.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade:

A downgrade of BOCOM HK Branch's Long-Term IDR (xgs) would lead to a downgrade of the senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs).

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade:

An upgrade of BOCOM HK Branch's Long-Term IDR (xgs) would lead to an upgrade of the senior unsecured long-term rating (xgs).

Date of Relevant Committee

15 May 2025

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG Considerations

BOCOM has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Financial Transparency, as there are still structural issues around financial transparency and disclosure. Those are not captured in headline performance metrics in China and affect our assessment on the operating environment as well as the financial profile. This negatively affects the bank's credit profile and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, ttps://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.

(C) 2025 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire