Standard & Poor’s has cut the ratings of four Portuguese state-owned utilities to junk status, saying government support for the companies could be limited by the country’s sovereign debt difficulties.
The decision highlights the spread to state-owned companies of Portugal’s government debt problems, which have already frozen the country’s banks out of international capital markets. ft
Rede Ferroviária Nacional (Refer), Portugal’s railway infrastructure operator, has failed to go ahead with plans for a €500m syndicated bond in the first sign that Lisbon’s sovereign debt difficulties are spreading to the public sector. ft