By Sudip Roy and Abhinav Ramnarayan

The Kingdom of Bahrain, rated Baa2/BBB/BBB, has hired four banks including Citigroup, Gulf International Bank and Standard Chartered to arrange a new US dollar bond issue, according to sources.

One source said the sovereign could be considering a 30-year bond deal. The timing of the transaction is unclear.

Bahrain last issued in the international bond market a year ago when it sold a $1.5 billion 10-year note.