The State of Qatar's debt and debt-service burdens have recently been reduced, and Standard&Poor's expects 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. The debt of the general government has declined in recent years and, according to Standard&Poor's estimates, was 60% of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2001/2002. It should decline to 55% of GDP at the end of the current fiscal year, 2002/2003, which began on April 1. The government has substantial financial assets, including undisclosed foreign investments; however, taking into account its domestic bank deposits alone
