STOCKHOLM (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 4, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings to Finland-based energy company Fortum Oyj (Fortum). At the same time, Standard&Poor's removed from CreditWatch and affirmed its triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short-term ratings on Fortum's wholly owned subsidiary, Sweden-based utility Birka Energi AB (Birka; now renamed Fortum Power&Heat AB). The outlook on both companies is stable. "Fortum benefits from being the second-largest vertically integrated energy utility in the Nordic region, with competitive generation assets, downstream retail access, and stable monopoly operations, as well as a highly competitive oil refining business," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Andreas Zsiga. "Weaknesses include exposure
