DUBAI: Qatar is planning to issue its first international Islamic bond, or sukuk, IFR Markets, a unit of Thomson Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Qatar has sent a request for proposals to banks and is close to mandating arrangers, IFR said, citing sources it did not identify. The sukuk is expected some time in the second quarter, before the summer break, the sources said.

The world's biggest natural gas exporter last tapped global debt markets with a $5 billion conventional multi-tranche bond in November, capitalising on investor appetite for safe havens amid market uncertainty.