INTERNATIONAL rating company Standard & Poor has upgraded the foreign currency credit ratings to BBB- from BB+ for China's biggest steel plant, Shanghai Baosteel Group.

　　The rating agency also upgraded the company's outlook from "positive" to "stable".

　　The agency said the change reflects the substantial drop in the company's debt burden after reorganization, citing marked improvement in the company's capital structure and situation of cash flow.

　　The company annexed two smaller state-owned, money-losing iron and steel companies during the Asian financial crisis, which led Standard & Poor's to downgrade its rating twice for fear of its prospects.

　　The annexed companies have become profitable after they laid off 47,000 employees, about 40 percent of their total workforces. 　　

　　Sales revenue of the steel company, the largest of its kind in China, totaled 71 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion) last year with the net profit up 45 percent to 2.2 billion yuan. (Xinhua)