Thai Bank of Ayudhya sets $617 mln bond coupons

BANGKOK, May 16 (Reuters) - Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya BAY.BK, 35 percent owned by a unit of General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has priced coupons for a bond issue of 20 billion baht ($617 million), two fund managers said on Friday.

Thailand's fifth largest bank will offer two-year bonds with a coupon rate of 4.25 percent, the fund managers close to the deal told Reuters.

A three-year issue will carry a coupon of 4.50 percent, they said.

The bank's last 20-billion-baht bond issue in February had a coupon of 3.85 percent for 2-year bonds and a 4.00 percent coupon for 3-year bonds.

Benchmark two-year government bonds yielded 3.80 percent in the secondary market on Friday, three-year bonds yielded 3.95 percent. ($1=32.45 Baht) (Reporting by Arada Therdthammakun; Editing by Darren Schuettler)