OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Governance Services said today it raised its corporate governance score (CGS) on Central Telecommunications Co. (OJSC) (CTC), the leading fixed-line telecommunications operator in Russia's central federal district, to 'CGS-5' from 'CGS-4+'.

At the same time, the CGS was raised to 'CGS-5.0' from 'CGS-4.9' on the Russia national scale.

The upgrade reflects improvements in disclosure on back-tax claims amounting to $85.5 million that were presented to the company in April 2006.

CTC's executives have commented on these claims in sufficient detail in media interviews, which has contributed to investor and analyst understanding of the causes of the claims and associated risks.

However, that room for improvement remains in terms of presenting the situation in greater detail in official publications.