LONDON (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 5, 2006--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it revised its foreign currency outlook on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to positive from stable. At the same time, the 'A' long-term foreign currency, 'A+' long-term local currency, and 'A-1' short-term sovereign credit ratings were affirmed. The local currency outlook is stable. The outlook revision primarily reflects the government's strengthened external financial position. Foreign reserves of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) are increasing rapidly, and are expected to top $220 billion by year-end 2006 (from $92 billion in 2004), which is sufficient to cover almost 17 months of current account payments (including private transfers). Furthermore, the central government has no external debt, nor does it
