Fitch affirms CMQ

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Cerveceria y Malteria Quilmes Saica y G's foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at BB. Also affirmed at BB were the senior unsecured notes due 2012 issued by Argentine Beverages Financial Trust, whose underlying asset is a loan granted by CMQ.

The ratings were removed from Rating Watch negative, and the outlook is now stable.

CMQ is a wholly owned subsidiary of Quinsa, which in turn is 99.9% owned by Companhia de Bebidas das Americas SA. AmBev does not guarantee the debt of Quinsa and its subsidiaries, but the agency believes it is likely that AmBev would help CMQ pay its debt in the event of the imposition of transfer and convertibility restrictions by the Argentine government to avoid the negative externality on the cost of AmBev's debt that would result if one of its key subsidiaries defaults.

For the last 12 months ended March 31, 2008, CMQ's EBITDA increased to $292 million and its total debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 0.7 times.

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