NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 13, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its triple-'B' foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating to the State of Qatar's debut bond in the international capital market, a 10-year $1 billion general purpose financing issue. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its triple-'B'-plus local currency and its triple-'B' foreign currency issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the emirate. The outlook is stable. The ratings on the State of Qatar continue to be supported by: -- Its possession of the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas. Qatar's gas production will expand sharply in the next few years, thanks to sizable liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other hydrocarbon-based export projects, which came
