International law firms Clifford Chance and Norton Rose are advising on UAE real estate developer Majid Al Futtaim Holding’s (MAF) expected benchmark bond issuance, two sources familiar with the matter told The Brief.

Norton Rose is acting as adviser for MAF, which is the sole franchisee of French hypermarket chain Carrefour. Clifford Chance, meanwhile, is advising the banks on the deal. JPMorgan Chase, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Barclays, Standard Chartered and UBS AG have been mandated to arrange for the investor meetings, which are expected to commence on Wednesday in Singapore and London.

A senior executive at MAF told Reuters that the company expects to raise between $350 million and $500 million through the bond issuance.

Any eventual bond will be under MAF's $2 billion medium-term notes programme, which was set up last year. MAF held off on a debut conventional offering under the programme in 2011 due to market volatility.

The company instead opted for a five-year Islamic bond in January this year. It raised $400 million from the bond, which was priced at 5.85 percent.

Shaheen Pasha is Middle East Regional Editor at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_The Brief.

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