Moody's, the rating agency, said it gave 03633.HK a "Ba3" rating for the first time with a stable outlook, while granting a "Ba3" senior unsecured debt rating to Zhongyu's proposed dollar bills.

Wu Jiarong, vice president and senior analyst of Moody's, said Zhongyu Gas has a regional market position in Chinese cities, especially in Henan and Hebei provinces, and has a good track record of natural gas sales growth, coupled with industrial policy support. It is expected to continue to promote strong growth in the gas business.

Moody's expects Zhongyu's natural gas sales to grow at an annual rate of about 20 per cent this year and next, mainly supported by factors such as the resumption of business activities in existing projects and new acquisitions that will bring new growth points. It also estimates that Zhongyu's annual capital expenditure will be HK $1.5 billion to HK $2 billion over the next three years, the ratio of working capital to debt will be 10% to 11% from 2021 to 2023, and the ratio of retained cash flow to debt will be 8% to 9%.