On April 5, 2006, Standard & Poor's raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to 'A+' from 'A'. At the same time, the 'A+' long-term local currency and 'A-1' short-term sovereign credit ratings were affirmed. The outlook on both the foreign and local currency ratings is stable. The long-term foreign currency rating was put on positive outlook in early January 2006, reflecting the government's strengthened external financial position. Foreign reserves of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) have increased rapidly in recent years, and are expected to top $220 billion by year-end 2006 (from $92 billion in 2004), which is sufficient to cover about 23 months of current account payments (including private transfers).
