Fitch Ratings affirmed Unibail-Rodamco SE's long term issuer default rating atA and senior unsecured rating at A+.

The outlook on the long term issuer default rating is stable,and the short term issuer default rating was affirmed at F1.

The rating agency said the ratings reflect the geographicdiversity of the French company's shopping center assets and a defensive rentalincome profile. The company owns properties in 12 European countries and hasexposure to mature markets as well as emerging ones.

The agency also pointed out Unibail's increased strategicfocus on dominant, high quality shopping centers after having disposed of €1.6billion worth of noncore assets in 2015. The company completed €2 billion worthof developments in 2015 and had €1.4 billion worth of developments in thepipeline at 2015-end.

The group's operating performance reflects a high occupancyrate, high tenant retention and strong rent renewal increases, as well asstrong liquidity and access to capital markets, the agency noted.