Bangkok--11 Apr--Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings has today removed all the ratings of Thailand’s Advanced Info Service Public Company Limited (AIS) and Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC) from Rating Watch Negative (RWN), on which it was placed in February 2007. This rating action follows the agency’s view that concerns on policy, legal and regulatory risks are now reduced to the level that should not have an adverse impact on AIS and DTAC, in terms of future investment and shareholder support. At the same time, Fitch has affirmed the ratings of AIS and DTAC, as follows: AIS: Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) ‘BBB+’, National Long-term rating ‘AA(tha)’ and National Short-term rating ‘F1+(tha)’. The Outlook is Stable. DTAC: Long-term foreign currency IDR ‘BB+’, National Long-term rating ‘A(tha)’, National Short-term rating ‘F1(tha)’ and senior unsecured debentures rated ‘A(tha)’. The Outlook is Stable. Although the Council of State gave an opinion in May 2007 that the amendments of telecommunication concessions are not in compliance with the law and ordered the establishment of a Coordinating Committee to present the facts and opinions for further consideration by the cabinet, there has been little progress on these issues over the past six months. This was mainly due to the resignation of the Minister of Information and Communication Technology (who initiated the review) in September 2007. Moreover, the election and appointment of a new government in February 2008 has further lowered the risks of concession revocation. Fitch expects that the newly elected government is likely to take a softer approach to these issues, which should result in a minimal impact to private operators, given its greater focus on the development and liberalisation of the industry, and moving beyond the legal disputes. AIS’s ratings are based on its strong financial position and leading market position as Thailand’s largest cellular operator. The company also benefits from a competitive cost structure as a result of its large subscriber base and relatively low regulatory-related costs. However, the high level of capex including a technology upgrade to 3G, intense competition and regulation uncertainties could weaken AIS’s current strong financial position, particularly if dividend payouts remain high. AIS reported an EBITDAR of THB43.9 billion in 2007, which is a 3.2% increase from THB42.5bn in 2006. At end-2007, the company’s financial position remained solid with net adjusted debt to EBITDAR of 0.5x. DTAC’s ratings reflect its strong market position, strengthening financial position and shareholder support from Telenor of Norway. Key credit concerns include the high level of capital spending to increase coverage and upgrade technology, the intense competition as well as regulatory uncertainties in the Thai telecommunications industry. DTAC reported a strong yoy EBITDAR growth of 6.8% to THB19.6bn in 2007. The company’s financial position has continued to strengthen on strong earnings growth; its net adjusted debt to EBITDAR dropped to 1.7x in 2007 from 2.4x in 2006. Contacts: Obboon Thirachit, Wasant Polcharoen, Vincent Milton, Bangkok, Tel: +662 655 4755; Matt Jamieson, Seoul, Tel: +822 3278 8355. Note to Editors: Fitch’s National ratings provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities in countries with sub- or low-investment grade international sovereign ratings. The best risk within a country is rated ‘AAA’ and other credits are rated only relative to this risk. National ratings are designed for use mainly by local investors in local markets and are signified by the addition of an identifier for the country concerned, such as ‘AAA(tha)’ for National ratings in Thailand. Specific letter grades are not therefore internationally comparable. Fitch’s rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency’s public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch’s code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the ‘Code of Conduct’ section of this site.