The Public Attorney's Office of the State of Sao Paulo Requires Additional Time to Issue Its Final Interpretation of the Calcula

SAO PAULO, Aug. 7  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo - SABESP (BM&FBovespa: SBSP3; NYSE: SBS) (the "Company"), one of the largest water and sewage services providers in the world based on the number of customers, hereby informs that, in a meeting with the Company last week, the Public Attorney's Office of the State of Sao Paulo (the "Public Attorney's Office") informed the Company that it needs additional time to review the calculation and eligibility criteria applicable to the outstanding debt owed by the State of Sao Paulo (the "State") to the Company in respect of supplemental retirement and pension benefits (the "Benefits") that the Company paid on behalf of the State to the former employees of the State-owned companies which merged to form the Company.  Accordingly, the Public Attorney's Office expects to issue a final interpretation by August 20, 2009.

As previously informed, once the Public Attorney's Office issues a final interpretation of the calculation and eligibility criteria applicable to the Benefits and the Company is able to finalize the discussions with the State regarding the portion of the outstanding debt owed by the State to the Company that remains unsettled, totaling R$409.1 million (this amount does not include certain applicable adjustments) as of December 31, 2008 (the "Unsettled Amount"), the Company expects that its independent auditors will have a more current determination so as to assess their previously issued opinion qualification in their report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. However, the Company cannot assure that based on the new facts its independent auditors will be able to issue a report without the qualification for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

The Company believes that, after it is able to finalize the discussions with the State regarding the Unsettled Amount, it will need additional work and time to restate its financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 accordingly.  In light of the above and of the information provided in the Form 12b-25 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 1st, 2009, at this stage, the Company is not in a position to determine when it will be able to file its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. 

DATASOURCE: Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo



CONTACT:  Mario Arruda Sampaio, Ph.: 5511 3388-8664,

, or Angela Beatriz Airoldi, 5511 3388-8793,

, both for Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de

Sao Paulo

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