Rating Rationale
September 14, 2020 | Mumbai
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
'CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable' assigned to Bonds 
 
Rating Action
Rs.6500 Crore Bonds CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable (Assigned)
Rs.3533.97 Crore Non Convertible Debentures CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Rs.1000 Crore Non Convertible Debentures CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable (Reaffirmed)
Rs.3000 Crore Non Convertible Debentures CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has assigned its 'CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable' rating to the Rs 6,500 crore bonds of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). The rating on the remaining NCDs of MTNL has been reaffirmed at 'CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable'.
 
The rating reflects the strength of the credit enhancement provided by the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from the Government of India (GoI) through the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, and the trustee-administered payment mechanism.
 
GoI's guarantees for all the aforementioned bonds and NCD programmes of MTNL, together with the structured payment mechanism, should ensure that all repayment obligations of the company are met in a timely manner.
 
Furthermore, GoI's guarantees for all CRISIL-rated bonds and NCD programmes of MTNL are expected to remain unaffected by any change in ownership of MTNL.
 
The rating also factors in the moratorium availed by MTNL on its bank facilities, in accordance with the relief measures provided by the Reserve Bank of India under the Covid-19 Regulatory Package on March 27, 2020.

Analytical Approach

The rating is fully driven by the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee provided by GoI and the trustee-administered payment mechanism. The rating also factors in GoI's majority stake in MTNL.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
* Credit enhancement provided by comprehensive, unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from GoI: The rating is based on the strength of the credit enhancement facility provided by the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from the GoI through the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
 
* Trustee-administered payment structure, designed to ensure full and timely payment to investors: A well-defined payment T-structure between MTNL, GoI and SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd (trustee) should ensure timely servicing of interest and principal obligations on the bonds and NCDs. Furthermore, a designated trust and retention account has been opened exclusively for the benefit of the trustee (on behalf of the bondholders).
Liquidity Superior

The rated bonds and NCDs derive comfort from the liquidity based on the guarantee structure (unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from the GoI through the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications), which should ensure timely servicing of debt.

Outlook: Stable

The rating outlook on the rated bonds and NCDs reflects CRISIL's outlook on the credit quality of GoI, the guarantor to the rated debt.

Rating Sensitivity Gactors
Downward factors
* Non-adherence to terms of the transaction guarantee structure/payment mechanism
* Delays in receipt of funds in the designated account
* Any change in support philosophy of GoI.

Adequacy of credit enhancement structure

GoI has provided a comprehensive, unconditional and irrevocable guarantee for the rated bonds and NCDs. The guarantee shall not be transferrable to any agency without prior approval of the Ministry of Finance (budget division). The well-defined T-structure should ensure timely payment of the interest and principal obligations.

Unsupported ratings:  CRISIL BBB

CRISIL has introduced the 'CE' suffix for instruments with an explicit credit enhancement feature, in compliance with Securities and Exchange Board of India's circular dated June 13, 2019.

Key drivers for unsupported ratings

For arriving at the unsupported rating, CRISIL has combined the  business and financial risk profiles of MTNL and its subsidiaries (refer to the annexure), as they are in related businesses and have common promoters. The financial risk profile of the company remains weak because of accumulated losses, high debt levels and negative networth and cash accrual. However, CRISIL has applied its parent notch-up for government support to the entity.
 
About the Issuer
MTNL was set up by the GoI in April 1986 to improve the quality of telecommunication (telecom) services, expand the telecom network and introduce new telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai. MTNL has a large backhaul capacity of transmission cables, towers and optical fibres in the two circles. The company had 3.35 million subscribers for mobile services and 3.08 million customers with fixed-line telephone connections as of June 2020.

Key Financial Indicators (Consolidated)
Particulars Unit 2020 2019
Revenue Rs Crore 1570 2035
Profit After Tax (PAT) Rs Crore -3696 -3390
PAT Margin % -235 -167
Adjusted debt/adjusted networth Times -1.42 -1.54
Interest coverage Times -0.47 -0.47
These are CRISIL-adjusted numbers and may not match directly with the numbers reported by the company
List of covenants

The material covenants of the bonds amounting to Rs 6,500 crore are as follows:

  • The GoI would only cover the principal amount and the normal interest.
  • The guarantees would not be transferrable to any agency without prior approval of the budget division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. In case of default, the lending agency shall invoke the guarantee within a time limit not exceeding 60 days of the default. In case the guarantee is not invoked within the stipulated period, the guarantee would cease to exist for that portion of the tranche/loan/liability for which guarantee has not been invoked.
  • The government guarantee shall reduce periodically equivalent to the repayment that ought to have been made by the borrower as per the terms and conditions of the loan agreement. This will be subject to the consition above.
  • The trustee-monitored payment mechanism for these bonds is listed as folllows: 
Payment structure for bonds amounting to Rs 6,500 crore:
Trigger Date Action Point
(T-30)th day* Trustees to inform MTNL and the GOI in writing regarding the due date for payment of interest and/or principal amount so that the necessary arrangements could be made for meeting the interest payment/principal repayment obligations on the bonds.
(T-10)th day* The designated trust and retention account is to be funded by MTNL for the interest/principal obligations on the bonds.
(T-8)th day* If the designated trust and retention account is not funded to the requisite extent by day T-8, the trustees shall forthwith invoke the GOI guarantee by sending a notice if Invocation to GOI.
(T-3)th day* Last date by which the GOI shall deposit requisite funds in the designated trust and retention account as per the notice of invocation served by the trustees.
NOTE: 'T' refers to the due date for interest payments/ principal repayments.

If any coupon payment date falls on a day that is not a business day, the payment shall be made by the issuer on the following working day, in line with SEBI circular number CIR/IMD/DF-1/122/2016 dated November 11, 2016.

If the redemption date (also being the last coupon payment date) of the bonds falls on a day that is not a business day, the redemption proceeds shall be paid by the issuer on the immediately preceding business day along with interest accrued on the bonds until but excluding the date of such payment.

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments and are included (where applicable) in the Annexure -- Details of Instrument in this Rating Rationale. For more details on the CRISIL complexity levels, please visit www.crisil.com/complexity-levels.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of instrument Date of allotment Coupon rate (%) Maturity date Issue size (Rs.Crore) Complexity level Rating Assigned with outlook
INE153A08014 Non-Convertible Debentures 28-Mar-13 8.57% 28-Mar-23 1005.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08022 Non-Convertible Debentures 05-Dec-13 9.38% 05-Dec-23 1975.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08030 Non-Convertible Debentures 26-Mar-14 9.39% 26-Mar-24 765.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08048 Non-Convertible Debentures 19-Nov-14 8.24% 19-Nov-24 1400.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08055 Non-Convertible Debentures 19-Nov-14 8.28% 19-Nov-24 100.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08063 Non-Convertible Debentures 19-Nov-14 8.24% 19-Nov-24 0.07 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
INE153A08071 Non-Convertible Debentures 28-Nov-14 8.29% 28-Nov-24 2268.90 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
NA Non-Convertible Debentures* NA NA NA 20.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
NA Bonds* NA NA NA 6500.00 Simple CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable
*Yet to be placed
 
Annexure - List of Entities Consolidated
Names of Entities Consolidated Extent of Consolidation Rationale for Consolidation
Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius) Ltd Fully consolidated Strong financial and business linkages
Millennium Telecom Ltd Fully consolidated Strong financial and business linkages
MTNL STPI IT Services Ltd Equity method Proportionate consolidation
United Telecommunications Ltd (Utl), Nepal Equity method Proportionate consolidation
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2020 (History) 2019  2018  2017  Start of 2017
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Bond  LT  0.00
14-09-20 
CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable    --    --    --    --  -- 
Non Convertible Debentures  LT  5713.97
14-09-20 
CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable      31-12-19  CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable  24-12-18  CRISIL AAA(SO)/Stable  29-12-17  CRISIL AAA(SO)/Stable  CRISIL AAA(SO)/Stable 
            07-09-19  CRISIL AAA(CE)/Stable           
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Approach to Financial Ratios
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
Criteria for rating instruments backed by guarantees
Rating Criteria for Mobile Telephony Services
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation
Criteria for Notching up Stand Alone Ratings of Entities Based on Government Support

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