Standard & Poor's to become Majority Shareholder in Taiwan Ratings Corporation

September 27, 2005, TAIPEI

Standard & Poor's, the leading global provider of independent investment research, ratings and indices, today announced a significant milestone in its business expansion in Asia, with the signing of an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Taipei-based Taiwan Ratings Corporation (TRC).

"This is a major step forward in Standard & Poor's strategy for growth in Asia," said Tom Schiller, Standard & Poor's Executive Managing Director, Asia-Pacific. "Our partnership with TRC combines the global capabilities and reputation of Standard & Poor's with the excellent local knowledge and skills of TRC. Together, the services we provide will support the investment, risk management and financing needs of our clients within Taiwan and around the globe. We hope it will further enhance the transparency and efficiency of the Taiwan capital market for investors, and facilitate new opportunities for capital raising for Taiwanese issuers."

Standard & Poor's took a 50% stake in TRC, Taiwan's largest ratings agency, when it was founded in 1997, as part of a strategy to better connect local markets with global markets. The completion of majority ownership will take place next month, with the purchase of an additional 1% stake from local shareholders. The integration of TRC will further enhance Standard & Poor's' expansion into the large, rapidly growing domestic Taiwanese credit ratings market, and provide TRC with access to new products and services for its local clients.

TRC and Standard & Poor's have already forged a strong relationship, having collaborated on a number of projects in the Taiwanese market including the recently released Taiwan Top 50 credit ratings report. Standard & Poor's and TRC's clients in Taiwan include many top tier investment banks, financial intermediaries and asset managers.

Eddy Yang, President of Taiwan Ratings Corporation, said, "Becoming a Standard & Poor's company will enable TRC to build upon its market position in Taiwan's dynamic and competitive financial markets. By leveraging Standard & Poor's global analytical experience, capabilities and brand, we will continue to grow our business and better meet the changing needs of our customers."

The acquisition of TRC is the latest in a series of significant investments this year by Standard & Poor's across Asia. In June this year, Standard & Poor's completed its acquisition of a majority shareholding in CRISIL, India's largest rating agency. In the same month, it established a presence in Kuala Lumpur after winning a contract form the Malaysian stock exchange to provide equity research on 300 locally listed stocks. In February 2005, Standard & Poor's announced an affiliation with Rating Agency Malaysia, the country's leading rating agency. Today, Standard & Poor's has more than 2,200 employees in eight countries in Asia-Pacific, and alliances with nine domestic rating agencies, stock exchanges and other financial institutions in the region.

Concluded.

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