OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2014. OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (hereinafter – Norilsk Nickel or the Company) announces that international rating agency Fitch Ratings (hereinafter – Fitch or Agency) has upgraded the Company’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BBB-' with ‘Stable’ outlook.

The upgrade reflects decent improvement in corporate governance of the Company. According to the Agency, the shareholder agreement and new the shareholding structure is set to improve the transparency of Norilsk Nickel, to maximize profitability and value creation for all shareholders.

Fitch welcomes the new strategy of Norilsk Nickel with its focus on the development of Tier 1 assets in Russia, capital allocation discipline and return on investments as the key metric for the Company’s management.

Thus, Norilsk Nickel investment grade rating is confirmed by three major international rating agencies Fitch, Standard&Poor's and Moody's reflecting the Company's strong financial profile and stable improvement in corporate governance.