Longreach CP Series 1 Commercial Paper Rated A-1+.

MELBOURNE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 1998--Standard & Poor's CreditWire 7/21/98 -- Standard & Poor's today assigned its 'A-1'-plus provisional rating to the series 1 commercial paper notes to be issued by Longreach CP Ltd. (Longreach CP) under its domestic program.

Longreach CP will use the proceeds of the series 1 notes to fund a loan to a subsidiary company, Longreach Prime Projects Pty. Ltd. (LPP). In turn, LPP will use the proceeds of the loan to finance A$365.7 million of the amortizing term facility and A$84.3 million of the interest-only term facility in respect of the acquisition of the Loy Yang B Power Station (LYB loan). The provisional rating reflects:

-- The financial guarantees provided by MBIA Insurance Corp. (MBIA) in favor of LPP guaranteeing the principal and interest payments from the LYB loan and the payments from the GIC swap;

-- The credit quality of the liquidity facility provider with respect to the liquidity facility provided to LPP to support the timely redemption of commercial paper notes;

-- The credit quality of the swap counterparty with respect to the basis swap entered into by LPP to match the payment obligations due from the underlying assets and those due to noteholders;

-- The credit quality of the advances facility provider with respect to the advances facility provided to LPP to cover the potential delay between the LYB loan payment date and the MBIA guarantee claim payment date; and

-- The credit quality of the tax indemnity provider with respect to the limited tax indemnity provided to LPP to cover any withholding taxes that may be imposed on fees paid to MBIA.

Longreach CP is a special-purpose company incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory for the purpose of issuing discounted commercial paper. It is an orphan entity whose shares are held on trust for charitable beneficiaries. Commercial paper will be issued in series that are segregated, and may be differently rated. The proceeds of each series will be used to acquire specific assets. The transaction documents provide that in respect of each series, the recourse of each party is limited to the charged underlying assets of that specific series. The parties cannot seek to recover any shortfall by applying for the winding-up of Longreach CP, or by bringing any other legal proceedings against Longreach CP or any of its other assets. The manager of the program is Longreach Global Capital Pty. Ltd., which is jointly owned by Allco Management Ltd., Chase Manhattan Capital Markets Ltd., and Hastings Funds Management Ltd., Standard & Poor's said. -- CreditWire

CONTACT: Mei L Da Silva, Melbourne (61) 3-9250-4559

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