Sep 05, 2011 10:01 PM EDT
HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- A planned dollar bond by BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd. (2388.HK), the local unit of mainland Chinese lender Bank of China Ltd. (3988.HK) is likely to be "large benchmark" in size, a person familiar with the proposed deal said Tuesday.

Benchmark size in dollar-bond terms usually refers to US$500 million or larger.

BOC is holding investor meetings in Asia, Europe and the U.S. through Friday, ahead of the planned Reg S/144A sale.

BOC Hong Kong last week said it may issue up to US$15 billion worth of bonds to professional and institutional investors over the next 12 months as part of a note issuing program. The bonds sold under the program may be denominated in any currency, it said.

BOC International, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank are joint arrangers for the bond issues.

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