DUBAI, July 12 (Reuters) - National Bank of Oman (NBO) has launched a $100 million tap of its existing 2019 bond at initial price thoughts in the area of 225 basis points over midswaps, lead managers said on Tuesday.

The transaction is being arranged by Credit Agricole and National Bank of Abu Dhabi and should price as soon as later in the day, according to the leads.

Under a tap, an issuer offers a new bond which has the same documentation as an existing deal, thereby negating the time and expense of drafting a new offering.

In the case of NBO, its $500 million five-year bond that was issued in October 2014 is being used. That deal carried a 3.125 percent coupon and was trading on Tuesday at a z-spread of 213.8 basis points, according to Thomson Reuters data.



(Reporting by David French, editing by Louise Heavens) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))