LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 1, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said it had affirmed its 'A/A-1' foreign currency and 'A+/A-1' local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Botswana. The outlook is stable. "The impact of the global downturn on Botswana's diamond exports and other commodities is in turn likely to have a significant effect on economic growth, fiscal outturns, and external balances," Standard&Poor's credit analyst Remy Salters said. "The affirmation reflects our expectation that the marked cyclical deterioration will be sufficiently contained to preserve comfortable net creditor positions on both the fiscal and external side." Although the diamond sector could be more resilient than in past downturn episodes owing to structural changes, we still
