Bahrain To Sell $1.25B 10-Year Bond At 200 Bps Over Treasurys

* username: rupertbu

The Kingdom of Bahrain is set to price a $1.25 billion 10-year bond Wednesday that will offer 200 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasurys, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The 144a sale is being managed by BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY, BNP.FR), Deutsche Bank (DB) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

The offering comes on the heels of a roadshow that ends Tuesday, where officials will met with investors in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Bahrain has an A rating from both Standard & Poor's and Fitch. The securities mature March 31, 2020.

The deal's announcement suggests that the international capital markets may be opening again for Middle Eastern credits. Few new bond deals have come out since Dubai's flagship conglomerate Dubai World sent ripples across global markets in November when it asked for a six-month standstill on payment for $26 billion of debt. Details of the restructuring have yet to emerge.

Since then, Lebanon became one of the first sovereign issuers out of the region when it raised $1.2 billion in 10-year bonds earlier this month. The securities carried a coupon of 6.375%.

Many regional companies and governments joined the issuance boom of 2009, including Qatar, whose $7 billion offering was the largest ever deal from the developing world.END