MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) May 23, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had affirmed its 'BBB' ratings on New Zealand fixed-line telecommunications network company Chorus Ltd. and the company's related debt issues. At the same time, we removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were initially placed on Nov. 5, 2013. The outlook is negative. "The rating affirmation reflects our view that Chorus has sufficient flexibility–under a range of proposed revenue, cost, and capital management initiatives–to temper the impact of reduced network pricing from December 2014 and maintain a financial risk profile consistent with the 'BBB' rating. Furthermore, we believe Chorus remains committed to supporting its credit quality at the current rating level and
