TOKYO (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 29, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today affirmed its senior unsecured bond rating on Sojitz Corp. at 'BB' and lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Sojitz to 'CC' from 'CCC' following the company's unveiling of the details of its financial restructuring package. The downgrade reflects the probability that the bailout package will include a debt-for-equity swap. The long-term rating was removed from CreditWatch where it had been placed on June 8, 2004. The outlook on the long-term corporate credit rating is negative. Sojitz today announced that a ¥360 billion capital injection scheduled to take place in late October would involve a debt-for-equity swap, with key creditor banks extending new loans to Sojitz Holdings, which
