S&P rates E-Mart A-

Standard & Poor's said it assigned an A- long-term corporate credit rating to E-Mart Co. Ltd., a newly established company that will take over the hypermarket businesses of Shinsegae Co. Ltd. following its demerger on May 1.

The agency also said it affirmed the A- senior unsecured bond rating on E-Mart's $200 million notes due June 2011, which have been transferred from Shinsegae.

The outlook is stable.

S&P also said it lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on Shinsegae to BBB+ from A- and removed the rating from CreditWatch with negative implications, where it was placed in February. The BBB+ long-term corporate rating and senior unsecured debt rating on Shinsegae was withdrawn at the request of the company.

The ratings are supported by the company's leading market position, underpinned by a 37% share of sales in the South Korean hypermarket sector in 2010 and its strong profitability and adequate liquidity, S&P said.

The ratings are constrained by the mature and competitive characteristics of the Korean hypermarket sector, the agency said, and the company's financial policy of aggressively opening new stores.

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