LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) June 20, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus long-term senior unsecured rating to the Republic of Hungary's new €1 billion bond issue due 2011. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed all other ratings on Hungary, including the single-'A'-plus/'A-1' local currency and single-'A'-minus/'A-2' foreign currency issuer credit ratings on the Republic. The outlook is stable. Hungary's ratings are supported by: -- The Hungarian Government becoming a small net external creditor in 2000 (excluding forint-denominated debt held by nonresidents; including such debt, which is Standard&Poor's approach, will postpone the government becoming a small net creditor until 2002). As Hungary was the only transition economy to accumulate substantial foreign debt during the communist
