OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2007.  Standard & Poor’s Corporate Governance Ratings Department reaffirmed the corporate governance rating (CGR) at 1.6 on the national scale.  NWT’s international corporate governance rating was also confirmed at 5+.

As noted by the analysts of Standard & Poor’s, confirmation of the rating reflects participation of the representatives of minority shareholders in the decision-making process at the level of the Board of Directors, the high level of transparency and efficient PR work with investors.

Among the strong points in NWT’s corporate governance practice, Standard & Poor’s  notes:

- involvement of shareholders and the board of directors in control over management, and the active role of independent directors;

- active operations by the board of directors, especially the audit committee;

- receipt for two years of an unconditionally positive auditor’s conclusion on IFRS reports;

- highleveloftransparency;

- active policy in interacting with investors;

- corporate secretary’s role in ensuring the work process of the board of directors.

Thus, the evaluation of the corporate practice of North West Telecom remains the highest among regional telecom operators and is in line with best world practice in terms of financial transparency, disclosure and audit, shareholder rights and relations with financially interested parties.

The full version of the rating can be viewed at Standard & Poor’s corporate website at www.governance.standardandpoors.com, and on the Russian language site at www.standardandpoors.ru.