NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 11, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on the Republic of Suriname to 'B' from 'B-'. Standard&Poor's also raised its long-term local currency on the republic to 'B+' from 'B', and affirmed its 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings. The outlook on the foreign currency rating remains positive, while the outlook on the local currency rating was revised to positive from stable. According to Standard&Poor's credit analyst Helena Hessel, the upgrades reflect the strengthening of Suriname's debt-management practices, which resulted in the restructuring and repayment of long-standing arrears on bilateral debts. "The government also eliminated small technical arrears to multilateral
