Most Asia-Pacific gas utilities have solid fundamentals, with ample headroom in their ratings or credit profiles, Fitch Ratings said in a recent release.

The main exception is Binhai Investment (HKG:2886), whose headroom is narrower due to declining gas sales volume and connections, Fitch said.

The rating agency expects the sector's leverage to slightly increase to 1x over the next few years, due to increased capital expenditure for GAIL (India) (NSE:GAIL, BOM:532155) and PetroVietnam Gas (HOSE:GAS).

While near-term gas demand is likely to slow in China and India due to warmer weather and a weaker economy, long-term demand is expected to remain resilient as gas is viewed as a vital transition fuel.

Fitch expects the ratings of most utilities to remain stable because of their status as government-related entities.