Fitch affirmed the long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings of Lai Fung Holdings Ltd. at BB-, with a stable outlook.

The affirmation comes on the back of the Hong Kong-based developer's "stable" financial profile, with investment-property EBITDA/gross interest ratio of 1.4x and total debt-to-total real estate assets at 27% as at July 31, 2017, both similar to prior-year figures.

Fitch also noted Lai Fung's small investment property EBITDA of approximately US$60 million and the 3.3 million square feet in gross floor area of property under development as factors constraining the ratings.

Moving forward, the rating agency anticipates that the investment-property EBITDA interest cover of the company will remain above 1.2x, while gross profit margin will improve to more than 30% in the next two to three years.