MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 14, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus long-term and 'A-2' short-term ratings to ETSA Utilities Finance Pty. Ltd. The rating outlook is stable. ETSA Utilities Finance Pty. Ltd. is the financing vehicle of ETSA Utilities Partnership (ETSA Utilities), which is the South Australian electricity distribution business. ETSA Utilities was acquired in January 2000 under a long-term lease by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. (CKI, single-'A'-minus/Stable/—) and Hongkong Electric Holdings Ltd. (HKE; foreign currency rating, single-'A'/Stable/—) for A$3.25 billion. CKI and HKE each hold 50% of ETSA Utilities, although CKI separately owns 38.2% of HKE. CKI is a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (single-'A'/Stable/—), the Hong Kong-based conglomerate. ETSA Utilities' network covers the main
