Kowloon Motor Bus Holdings' franchised bus division has been assigned a single A credit rating by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.
The rating is only one level below the SAR's double-A sovereign rating and the ratings of other transport giants - MTR Corp and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp.
Standard & Poor's said the rating underlined Kowloon Motor Bus' (KMB) stable business, efficient services, flexible capital expenditure and sound financial health.
Susanne Ho, head of KMB corporate communications, welcomed the rating.
However, she would not say if the firm would raise debt.
The rating has been assigned while the low interest-rate regime favours debt issues.
KMB appeared to need to raise debt as the ratings agency pointed out that 94 per cent of its debt was due before 2006, while it relied heavily on short-term debt.