On Dec. 4, 2008, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B+' long-term foreign currency and 'BB-' long-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Suriname. The short-term sovereign currency rating remains 'B'. The outlook is stable. The ratings on Suriname reflect the country's improving macroeconomic fundamentals, robust medium term growth prospects, strengthened debt position, and, most importantly, efforts on the legislative and institutional fronts to preserve these accomplishments beyond economic and political cycles. These supporting factors are counterbalanced by the narrow economy base that is strongly tied to commodities (alumina, gold, and oil constitute more than 80% of current account receipts) and continued institutional capacity constraints that affect debt management (such as periodic delays in payment of
