POSCO Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. earned the highest credit rating from National Information and Credit Evaluation (NICE), an independent credit rating firm, for a 9-year period from 1998 through 2006, winning a vote of confidence as the most trusted construction company deserving the top rating in the industry.

KCI and Korea Ratings gave "A1" and "AA-" to the company's short-term corporate debt and long-term credit, respectively, in June 2006 based on results of their assessment.

This is the highest rating among construction companies. POSCO E&C garnered the top-notch rating for the ninth consecutive year in the short-term credit, and maintained the highest mark in the industry in the corporate bond.

NICE has won recognition as the country's leading credit rating and information provider, adopting advanced methodology and serving public good. Among its major shareholders are 22 commercial banks and the bank industry association. In its report, the credit rating firm cited stability in debt structure and POSCO E&C's ability to pay debt in time as the reason for the "A1" highest rating in the corporate bond.

Ratings on corporate bonds are categorized into six from A1 down to D. A1, A2 and A3 ratings are affirmation to debt-payment capabilities, and B through D represent speculative grades. Long-term corporate credit ratings range from AAA to D across 10 grades. BBB and higher ratings are positive marks (investment) and lower than BBB are negative (speculation).

POSCO E&C's A1 and AA- are the highest grade given to a construction company as of 2007. The company boasts a stable financial structure - ratio of net profit margin to net sales of 5.3% (3,670.4 billion won in sales and 194 billion won in net profit), debt-to-equity ratio of 50.4% (1,106.7 billion won in capital versus 2,197.6 billion won in net asset), debt ratio of 98.6% (debts worth 1,090.9 billion won) in 2006.

The top-notch crediting rate usually translates into easier access to lower-cost funds in the long term. The company will also earn extra PQ points when bidding for projects with government agencies. With the highest rating for the 9-year period, it is also expected to win a major vote of confidence from both local and foreign investors. The industry's only top-notch grade came as POSCO E&C continued expanding into deals with private and public-sector organizations while maintaining contracts with POSCO. The expansion helped the company diversify customer groups as well as increase sales volumes, improving stability of its business performances.