On Feb. 21, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the Kingdom of Morocco to stable from negative, reflecting expectations that the government debt burden will be stabilized. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BB'/'B' foreign currency and 'BBB'/'A-3' local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Kingdom. The ratings on Morocco are constrained by its: High, albeit decreasing, fiscal deficit. The central government deficit is expected to remain about 5.0% in 2003, compared with 4.9% in 2002 and 8.8% in 2001. The lower deficits are primarily due to reduced subsidies, limits on wage increases and capital outlays, and improved tax collection. High, and only slowly declining, debt burden. The general government debt burden decreased
