OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Governance Services said today it raised its corporate governance score (CGS) on North-West Telecom (JSC) (NWT), the leading fixed-line telecommunications operator in the northwest region of Russia, to 'CGS-5+' from 'CGS-5'.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's raised its score on the Russia national scale to 'CGS-5.6' from 'CGS-5.4'.

The upgrade primarily reflects improvements in shareholder influence and transparency.

The scores remain constrained, however, by the limited opportunity for independent directors and minority representatives to balance Svyazinvest's influence, particularly given their decreased board presence following the 2006 annual general meeting (AGM).