PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 29, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned first ratings to Efiposte, the newly created investment subsidiary of France's postal service. Triple-'A' long-term and 'A-1'-plus short-term counterparty credit ratings were assigned. The outlook is stable. The ratings reflect Efiposte's strategic importance for its 100% shareholder, La Poste (triple-'A'/Stable/'A-1'-plus), as well as its high degree of integration within its parent company and low risk profile. The ratings on La Poste reflect the strong implicit support of the Republic of France (triple-'A'/Stable/'A-1'-plus), reflected in La Poste's legal status of "Exploitant Autonome de Droit Public," which provides the entity with the ultimate statutory guarantee of the French state; the government's close involvement with and monitoring of the institution; and
