AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan is to make its long-awaited return to the international bond markets after the government announced its intention to meet investors from next Monday, reports Reuters.

The sovereign will kick off meetings in London on September 29 before visiting investors in New York, Boston, San Francisco and finally Los Angeles on October 3. A benchmark-sized US dollar 144A/Reg S bond will follow. Citigroup, HSBC and JP Morgan are the lead managers.

The sovereign was a regular in the market in the late 1990s but hasn't issued any new dollar debt since 2000. The country, particularly its banking sector, was badly hit by the global financial crisis.

Many problems still need to resolved, with rating agency Standard & Poor's warning that "economy and industry risks remain very high in a global context" in a research note on the banking system published in September.

Still, the sovereign's return to the market has been long mooted. Last year, the government hired the same three banks for a potential bond but the deal never materialised. That mandate then expired, leading Kazakhstan to issue another request for proposals.

Kazakhstan is rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB+ by Standard & Poor's