We believe Thaioil has a "highly strategic" status within the PTT group, and see an "extremely high" likelihood of extraordinary government support for the group in the case of financial distress. Our stand-alone credit profile of 'bbb-' for Thaioil reflects the company's good operating efficiency and competitive advantage, good product diversity, sound profitability, and cash flow generation capacity. We are affirming our 'BBB' long-term corporate credit rating and our 'axA' ASEAN regional scale rating on the Thailand-based refinery-and-petrochemical company and our 'BBB' long-term issue rating on its senior unsecured notes. The stable outlook reflects our opinion that PTT group's credit profile and Thaioil's group status will remain unchanged over the next two to three years. SINGAPORE (Standard&Poor's) April
