LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 9, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said it assigned its 'BBB+' long-term foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating to the Republic of Poland's (foreign currency BBB+/Negative/A-2; local currency A-/Negative/A-2) €1.5 billion bond issue due in 2009. The rating on the bond reflects the 'BBB+' long-term foreign currency issuer credit rating on Poland. The ratings on Poland are supported by a manageable external liquidity position. They also reflect a competitive, resilient, and increasingly diversified export sector, which is expected to lead Poland's incipient economic recovery. The ratings on Poland, however, remain constrained by the need to implement fiscal reforms sufficient to prevent a further deterioration of fiscal indicators. In the absence of far-reaching fiscal reforms,
