On April 3, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB+/A-2' foreign currency and 'A+/A-1' local currency sovereign ratings on the Republic of South Africa. At the same time, the 'zaAAA' long-term and 'zaA-1' short-term national scale ratings on the Republic, along with the 'A' transfer and convertibility assessment, were affirmed. The outlook is stable. The full analysis on the Republic of South Africa will be published later today on RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard&Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis. The report will also be posted on www.standardandpoors.com (Select Ratings, then select Sovereigns from the left-hand menu, then find under Credit Reports). The ratings on South Africa are supported by its prudent macroeconomic policies,
