Bahrain Hires Citi, BNP, Standard Chartered for $1 Billion Sukuk - Bloomberg

Bahrain has hired Citigoup Inc., BNP Paribas (BNP) SA and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) to advise on the sale of about $1 billion in Islamic bonds next month, Central Bank Governor Rasheed al-Maraj said.

Bahrain will use the money to finance a budget deficit of about 5 percent of gross domestic product, Maraj said in an interview today at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. Bahrain will seek to keep borrowing costs at between 200 basis points and 230 basis points above U.S. Treasuries, Maraj said.

Bahrain has been rocked by unrest this year after Shiite Muslims, who make up the majority of the island-kindgom’s population, demanded more political rights from their Sunni rulers. The central bank expects economic growth to be around 2 percent this year, Maraj said.

* username: rupertbu