S&P lifts Argentina companies

Standard & Poor's said it raised the local- and foreign-currency ratings on several Argentina companies following a similar upgrade of the sovereign ratings.

The outlook is stable.

The local- and foreign-currency ratings were upgraded to B- from CCC+ on Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 SA, IRSA Propiedades Comerciales SA, IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones SA, Clisa-Compania Latinoamericana de Infraestructura & Servicios SA, Mastellone Hermanos SA, Capex SA and Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA.

The agency also said it placed the B- local-currency rating on Arauco Argentina SA on CreditWatch with positive implications and raised its foreign-currency rating to B- from CCC-.

S&P also raised the foreign-currency rating on Petrobras Argentina SA to B- from CCC-.

The local- and foreign-currency ratings also were upgraded to CCC from CCC- on Metrogas SA, Compania de Transporte de Energia Electrica en Alta Tension Transener SA and Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte SA (Edenor).

The sovereign ratings upgrade reflects recent steps taken to address some of the substantial economic imbalances prevailing in Argentina, S&P said.

The recently elected President Mauricio Macri aims to reduce these imbalances over the next four years, reaching a balanced budget by 2019, the agency said.

The upgrades on the companies consider the lower risk of the government's intervention in the foreign-currency exchange market and subsequent reduction in risk for local-currency creditors, S&P said.

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