Moody's Investors Service assigned a Baa3 investment grade rating with a stable outlook to locally-listed Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) earlier today.

This is the first time the real estate investment trust received a rating from Moody's.

The Baa3 rating will allow more funds to invest in FCOT, as some of them are required to buy into products with a minimum investment rating.

As at March 31, FCOT's portfolio consists of five office buildings in Singapore and Australia with a combined appraised value of approximately $1.8 billion.

Moody's also said today that it had assigned a corporate family rating of Baa3 to Fcot based on its balanced portfolio of properties located in the well-regulated markets of Singapore and Australia.

The rating also takes into account FCOT's healthy lease expiry profile, which generates stable rentals and recurring cash flows, despite its small asset size and revenue.

Moreover, the stable outlook forecast reflects Moody's expecation that Fcot's properties will continue to generate stable incomes which are driven by steady occupancy levels and organic growth from positive rental revisions.

Like most of the locally-listed real estate investment trusts, FCOT units closed down six cents at $2.06 before the announcement was made.