Fitch Ratings has assigned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited's (ICBC, A/Stable) long-term senior unsecured US dollar notes issued by its Macau branch under its USD20 billion global medium-term note (MTN) programme a final rating of 'A'.

The USD250 million floating-rate notes due 2024 will be used to support the bank's general funding needs and lending in connection with China's 'Belt and Road Initiative', including in Portuguese-speaking countries.

The final rating on the notes is in line with the expected rating assigned on 6 December 2022, and follows the receipt of documents conforming to information previously received.

Key Rating Drivers

ICBC's Macau branch is part of the same legal entity as ICBC. Therefore, the notes represent ICBC's senior, direct, general, unsubordinated, unsecured and unconditional obligations and are rated in line with ICBC's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR).

The bank's Long-Term IDR is underpinned by the agency's expectations of a 'Very High' probability of government support and is one notch below China's sovereign rating (A+/Stable). See Fitch Affirms ICBC's Long-Term IDR at 'A'; Outlook Stable, for the key rating drivers and rating sensitivities of ICBC's IDRs.

Rating Sensitivities

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:

The rating on the notes would be downgraded if ICBC'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 ICBC's Long-Term IDR is upgraded.

Best/Worst Case Rating Scenario

International scale credit ratings of Financial Institutions and Covered Bond issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are based on historical performance. For more information about the methodology used to determine sector-specific best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10111579

Date of Relevant Committee

02 December 2022

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.

Public Ratings with Credit Linkage to other ratings

The rating on the notes are directly linked with ICBC's Long-Term IDR.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This 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. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/esg

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