The sovereign credit ratings on Suriname reflect the country's improving macroeconomic fundamentals, robust medium-term growth prospects, strengthened debt position, and, most important, efforts on the legislative and institutional fronts to preserve these accomplishments beyond the current economic and political cycles. These supporting factors are counterbalanced by a narrow economic base tied strongly 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 multilateral debt), public investment, and a more forceful advancement of structural reforms. Because of a sharp fall in commodity prices, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services expects the current account balance to swing into a deficit of 1.3% of
