LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) June 21, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its triple-'B' foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating to the State of Qatar's forthcoming Eurobond issue, expected to be between $1 billion and $2 billion and with a maturity of 30 years. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings on Qatar, which are as follows: -- Foreign currency issuer credit ratings: BBB/Stable/A-3; -- Local currency issuer credit ratings: BBB+/Stable/A-2; and -- Foreign currency senior unsecured rating: 'BBB'. The ratings on the State of Qatar are supported by: -- A substantial increase in its export capacity. Qatar's crude oil production capacity has increased recently, following significant investment in offshore oilfields, and is expected to reach one