| May 14, 2003 Fitch Rating said it raised Uralsvyazinform’s Senior Unsecured rating to ‘B+’ from ‘B’ and changed the Outlook from Stable to Positive. The Short-term rating of ‘B’ has been also affirmed.
The rating rise reflects the continuing progress of the company’s restructuring, which resulted in the company’s merger with six fixed-line telecom in the Urals region. Fitch expects that the enlarged Uralsvyazinform operating cash flow and financial results should further improve benefiting from the economic growth and post-merger cost efficiency. More details on Uralsvyazinform’s ratings upgrade are available on Fitch Ratings web-site at www.fitchratings.com. |
