S&P has raised its outlook on the Republic of Suriname’s B+ rating to positive from stable. "We revised the outlook to positive to reflect Suriname's strengthening macroeconomic and financial profile, including a falling debt burden and progress in clearing up arrears on bilateral debt," says S&P analyst Richard Francis. The agency also notes Suriname’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals, with robust medium-term growth prospects, as well as a solid debt position, with net general government debt at less than 10% of GDP at year-end. It adds that there are legislative and institutional efforts to preserve these accomplishments beyond the current economic and political cycles. "We could raise the long-term foreign-currency rating to BB minus if economic policies remain stable through the upcoming elections in 2010 and if the government clears its remaining bilateral debt arrears with the US," says Francis. "An upgrade also depends on further efforts to streamline the debt-management process to avoid delays in debt payments for technical reasons." On the negative side are Suriname's narrow economic base, which is strongly tied to commodities; alumina, gold, and oil constituted more than 80% of current account receipts at year-end 2009. In addition, S&P notes 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. The agency expects Suriname's current account balance to have a slight surplus of 3% of GDP in 2009, down from a surplus of nearly 12% in 2008. “Because of continued current account surpluses and continued foreign direct investment, especially in the gold sector, we expect international reserves to grow and general government debt to remain stable at its already low level,” it adds.