UDPATE 1-S.Africa issues $2 bln bond, strongly supported

* Lowest coupon ever for S.Africa in dollar market

* No more foreign bonds for 2010/2011 fiscal year

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JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Reuters) - South Africa issued a $2 billion global bond registered in the United States on Tuesday which received strong support from foreign investors, National Treasury Director-General Lesetja Kganyago said.

The Treasury said last month Africa's biggest economy would tap international markets for $7 billion over the next three years to fund its spending.

Kganyago said Tuesday's bond, which matures on March 2020, was a global SEC registered bond which could be sold in any other country.

Earlier, IFR, a Thomson Reuters service, said South Africa had launched $2.0 billion of 10-year notes expected to yie ld about 197 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasuries.

"This gives South Africa a coupon of 5.5 percent, the lowest coupon that South Africa has ever achieved in the U.S. dollar market," Kganyago told Reuters.

This was a significant improvement from a eurobond issued last year which had a coupon of 6.875 percent.

"We had a very strong support. This is the first deal that we have done without a road show because we believed that South Africa now has a critical following among investors."

"We were looking for $2 billion for the whole (fiscal) year, but went into the market thinking that maybe we would be looking at about $1.5 billion and could always come back for more during the year," Kganyago added.

"But we we had such strong support that we decided we could aswell do everything now. This is basically pre-funding the 2010/10 fiscal year."

Kganyago said the bond had been allocated to 320 different investors, with 59 percent going to the United States, 33 percent into Europe, 4 percent into Asia and a small percentag e to Latin America. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Andrew Hay)