LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Dec. 19, 2000--Standard&Poor's today raised its long-term local and foreign currency ratings on the Republic of Hungary by one notch. These upgrades are as follows: -- Long-term local currency issuer credit and senior unsecured ratings to single-'A'-plus from single-'A'; -- Long-term foreign currency issuer credit and senior unsecured ratings to single-'A'-minus from triple-'B'-plus; -- The outlook on the ratings is revised to stable from positive. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its short-term local and foreign currency issuer credit ratings of 'A-1'/'A-2', respectively, on the republic, as well as its 'A-1' local currency commercial paper rating. The upgrade reflects steady improvement in public finances and the concurrent decline in total external
