Bahrain's GIB plans $800 mln bond for April-source

MANAMA, March 27 (Reuters) - Saudi-owned Gulf International Bank (GIB) plans a 3 billion riyal ($800 million) bond issue in April to fund its growth in the kingdom, a banking source said, adding to a flurry of issues from Saudi lenders.

'It's a five-year deal on a floating note basis,' the banking source, who has direct knowledge of the deal, told Reuters.

Credit Agricole CIB, Samba Capital, Riyad Capital and GIB's unit GIB Financial Services have been appointed as lead managers for the issue.

The source said roadshows for the issue would start two weeks after related documentation is submitted to the Saudi bourse watchdog, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), on Saturday.

A spokesman for GIB could not immediately comment. The bank is headquartered in Bahrain but is owned by the Saudi government.

In November, GIB raised 2 billion riyals via a three-year bond priced at 127.5 basis points over the Saudi Interbank Offer Rate (SIBOR).

It postponed another issue in international markets and denominated in dollars after Dubai World rattled global markets in November last year with an announcement that it would ask for a stand-still on some of its debt just when GIB finalised the pricing of the bond.

As a result, Gulf Arab fixed-income markets remained largely shut for months, but are now slowly coming back to action with a series of issues led mainly by Saudi banks.

Banque Saudi Fransi raised $650 million in a bond sale this month and Samba Financial Group is in talks to issue a dollar-bond as well, according to a report this month in IFR, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

(Reporting by Frederik Richter; Editing by Jason Benham and Mike Peacock) Keywords: GIB BOND/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.