NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Jan. 31, 2001--Standard and Poor's today placed its single-'B' long-term local and single-'B'-minus long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Suriname on CreditWatch with negative implications. The CreditWatch action follows Suriname's failure to service debt to the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. Suriname is more than six months in arrears on loans from both institutions, surpassing designated grace periods. While Standard and Poor's credit ratings reflect the borrower's ability and willingness to service its commercial debts, default to multilateral preferred creditor institutions generally signals severe stress that may foreshadow problems in meeting commercial obligations. Suriname's recent troubles came to light when the new administration of President Ronald Venetiaan,
