On June 1, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term sovereign credit rating on the Republic of Argentina to 'B-' from 'SD'. Standard&Poor's also raised its short-term sovereign credit rating on the republic to 'C' from 'SD'. The outlook on the ratings is stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's assigned its 'B-' rating to the US$35.3 billion of new bond debt to be issued by the government in both local and foreign currencies in a series of par, discount, and quasi-par bonds, as well as to the corresponding GDP-linked securities also issued in local and foreign currencies. Standard&Poor's also raised its ratings on the republic's Argentine peso-denominated and U.S. dollar-denominated bonds called
