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Press Release
Moodys, in an exceptional move, upgraded SK Telecom’s credit rating from the existing Baa1 (Review for Possible upgrade) to A3 only ten days after the last upgrade.
A3 is the national credit rating of Korea. This SK Telecom upgrade results from an affirmative evaluation on the company’s efforts toward continued improvement of its corporate governance structure, and expectations of a favorable business performance in the future.
This exceptionally rapid action by Moody’s on SK Telecom’s credit rating, is expected to have the favorable effect of enhancing foreign confidence in the Korean economy.
On March 18, Moody’s, a worldwide credit rating institution, announced the upgrade of SK Telecom’s credit rating from existing Baa1 (Review for possible upgrade) to A3 which is the national credit rating of Korea.
It is an exceptional case for Moody’s to upgrade SK Telecom’s credit rating just ten days after the institution upgraded the company’s credit rating to Baa1 (Review for possible upgrade) on March 8th. In general, Moody’s upgrades the credit ratings after giving companies three month’s grace period.
A Moody’s official revealed that this upgrade is due to an affirmative evaluation of SK Telecom’s efforts toward improvement of its corporate governance structure through the appointing of a new president and restructuring the board of directors. These actions should strengthen its corporate fundamentals. In addition, Moody’s set a high value on the transparent business relationships with SK affiliated companies. For instance, SK Telecom has not supported SK Networks in business transactions, but it has maintained transparent and normal business relations with SK Networks.
With respect to its corporate fundamentals, Moody’s revealed that SK Telecom’s EBITDA Margin for 2003 improved to 49%, and its market share rose to 54.5%, a 1.3% increase over 2002. Its business performance is also expected to be favorable in the fiscal year 2004 and beyond, due to the constant increase in the number of wireless Internet users.
SK Telecom’s credit rating A3 is the highest rating that domestic companies can receive because A3 is the national credit rating of Korea. Companies’ credit ratings are not allowed to be higher than their country’s credit ratings.
This exceptional Moody’s upgrade of SK Telecom’s credit rating will have a favorable effect on the enhancement of foreign confidence in the Korean economy, which has recently been considered to some extent, to have an increasing uncertainty, both nationally and internationally.
It is an exceptional case for Moody’s to upgrade SK Telecom’s credit rating just ten days after the institution upgraded the company’s credit rating to Baa1 (Review for possible upgrade) on March 8th. In general, Moody’s upgrades the credit ratings after giving companies three month’s grace period.
A Moody’s official revealed that this upgrade is due to an affirmative evaluation of SK Telecom’s efforts toward improvement of its corporate governance structure through the appointing of a new president and restructuring the board of directors. These actions should strengthen its corporate fundamentals. In addition, Moody’s set a high value on the transparent business relationships with SK affiliated companies. For instance, SK Telecom has not supported SK Networks in business transactions, but it has maintained transparent and normal business relations with SK Networks.
With respect to its corporate fundamentals, Moody’s revealed that SK Telecom’s EBITDA Margin for 2003 improved to 49%, and its market share rose to 54.5%, a 1.3% increase over 2002. Its business performance is also expected to be favorable in the fiscal year 2004 and beyond, due to the constant increase in the number of wireless Internet users.
SK Telecom’s credit rating A3 is the highest rating that domestic companies can receive because A3 is the national credit rating of Korea. Companies’ credit ratings are not allowed to be higher than their country’s credit ratings.
This exceptional Moody’s upgrade of SK Telecom’s credit rating will have a favorable effect on the enhancement of foreign confidence in the Korean economy, which has recently been considered to some extent, to have an increasing uncertainty, both nationally and internationally.