Moody's ups Sojitz to Ba2

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the long-term unsecured senior debt rating of Sojitz Corp. to Ba2 from Ba3. The senior unsecured debt ratings of Sojitz subsidiaries that are supported by keepwell agreements have been also upgraded to Ba3 from B1.

This action concludes the review initiated on Sept. 30. The outlook is positive.

The upgrade reflects Moody's expectation that future progress in Sojitz's revised three-year business plan from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2006 will likely lead to some enhancement of its financial fundamentals, given the anticipated turnaround to positive net profit in turn due to improvements in balance sheet-related losses and reduction of nonperforming assets.

The ongoing debt reduction efforts would also contribute to earning performance by cutting financing costs, according to Moody's.

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