OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it placed seven Russia-based government-related entities (GREs) in the energy, transport, and financial sectors on CreditWatch with positive implications following a review of government influence on GREs in Russia.

The seven are:
-- Federal Grid Co. of the Unified Energy System
-- OAO Gazprom
-- Gazprombank
-- OJSC Oil Company Rosneft
-- Russian Bank for Development
-- Russian Railways (JSC)
-- OAO AK Transneft
    
The CreditWatch listings will be resolved over the next several weeks following reviews of the risks and benefits of links to the Russian Federation, as well as other relevant credit quality factors.

The Russian government has been proactive in strengthening the position of a number of GREs, resulting in some having gained potential benefits and privileged positions.