By Sudip Roy

LONDON, Sept 29 (IFR) - The Kingdom of Bahrain has sent a request for proposals to banks ahead of a potential international bond issue, according to two sources.

The sovereign is likely to want to issue in US dollars, according to one source, although it is not clear whether it will seek to issue a conventional or Islamic bond. The timing of any new deal is not known.

Bahrain is rated Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch.

It was last in the international capital markets in September 2014, when it issued a US$1.25bn 30-year bond at par to yield 6%. That note is now trading at 7.33%, according to Thomson Reuters data, or a cash price of 84.02 on the bid side.

(Reporting by Sudip Roy, editing by Julian Baker) ((sudip.roy@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 4617; Reuters Messaging: sudip.roy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: BAHRAIN BONDS/