On Aug. 19, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term foreign currency ratings on Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., the leading Turkish mobile telecoms company, to 'B' from 'B-'. The outlook is stable. The Turkcell upgrade follows Standard&Poor's recent upgrade of its ratings on the Republic of Turkey to 'B' from 'B-', as well as Turkcell's announcement of sound second-quarter 2003 results, demonstrating the company's continued cash generation and strengthening liquidity. Turkcell had total reported debt of $1.0 billion at June 30, 2003, down from $1.3 billion at Dec. 31, 2002. The ratings on Turkcell reflect the company's high exposure to foreign currency-denominated debt and to the macroeconomic environment in Turkey. These weaknesses are mitigated by Turkcell's
