Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Wednesday placed Frasers Commercial Trust’s (FCOT) ‘BB’ long-term corporate credit rating on credit watch with negative implications.

The credit watch placement ‘is the result of FCOT not having in place refinancing arrangements to the level of certainty anticipated by Standard & Poor’s at this stage’, the credit rating agency said.

‘In resolving the credit watch, we anticipate firm committed refinancing arrangements to be in place by middle of May 2009,’ said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Wee Khim Loy. If that does not happen, FCOT may suffer a rating downgrade.

The agency may even lower FCOT’s rating by more than one category if ‘the likelihood of FCOT successfully completing its refinancing exercise in a timelymanner has declined materially,’ Ms Loy added.

In response, FCOT said that it is negotiating with financial institutions the terms and conditions to refinance the entire $550 million of loan notes, and will make further announcements at an appropriate time