BEIJING (Standard&Poor's) July 18, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had assigned its 'BBB+' long-term local-currency counterparty credit rating to Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. (BoCom; foreign currency: BBB+/Stable/--). The outlook is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's assigned its 'BBB+' long-term issue rating to the proposed issue of Chinese renminbi (RMB)-denominated senior unsecured bonds in Hong Kong by BoCom. "The counterparty credit rating on BoCom reflects the bank's entrenched domestic franchise, implicit government support, and significantly enhanced capacity to generate internal capital," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Qiang Liao. The rating also takes into consideration the strong likelihood that BoCom's partnership with Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (AA/Stable/A-1+), the bank's
