On May 13, 2002, Standard&Poor's raised its long-term foreign currency issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the State of Qatar to single-'A'-minus from triple-'B'-plus, and its long-term local currency issuer credit rating on Qatar to single-'A' from single-'A'-minus. The outlook is positive. At the same time, Standard&Poor's raised its short-term foreign and local currency issuer credit ratings to 'A-1' from 'A-2'. The upgrade primarily reflects the recent reductions in the government's debt and debt-service burdens, and Standard&Poor's expectations that these are now on a downward trend. These improvements have been driven mainly by increases in export receipts from liquefied natural gas (LNG), which should pick up further over the next few years.
