LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 15, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B' long-term and 'A-3' short-term local currency issuer credit ratings, and its double-'B' long-term and single-'B' short-term foreign currency issuer credit ratings on the Kingdom of Morocco. The outlook on both the local currency and foreign currency ratings is stable. The Kingdom of Morocco's ratings are constrained by: -- A high public sector and external debt burden. At an estimated 95% of GDP and 119% of exports, total public sector debt and net public sector external debt, respectively, although decreasing, still significantly exceed single-'B' and double-'B' medians. -- An economy subject to volatile GDP performance. Morocco's economic growth has fluctuated between plus 12% and negative 7% over
