On Sept. 5, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the Republic of Romania to positive from stable, on the structural economic and institutional improvements driven by the framework of EU accession. At the same time, the 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term foreign currency and the 'BBB' long-term and 'A-3' short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on Romania were affirmed. EU entry, which is likely to occur on Jan. 1, 2007, will support the ratings by locking in past reforms, and providing a framework for further growth- and investment-enhancing economic and institutional modernization. Driven first and foremost by dynamic investment, we expect trend GDP growth of 5.0%-5.5% over the medium term to enable sustained income convergence, taking
