CNBC reports that on Friday, finance minister Lim Guan Eng announced that Malaysia chose three lead arrangers for a samurai bond issuance of up to 200 billion yen ($1.83 billion).

Lim told reporters that the Malaysian units of HSBC Holdings, Mizuho Financial Group and Daiwa Capital Markets (which will work in partnership with Affin Hwang Investment Bank) will be the joint lead arrangers.

“The bond is expected to be raised in the next few months,” said Lim, who went on to say that the Japan Bank of International Cooperation will guarantee the bond and that the coupon rate will not exceed an annual 0.65%.

In November, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed had said that before March, the government will issue a 200-billion-yen Samurai bond with low interest rates in an effort to pay back some of the “costly” loans taken by the previous administration of Najib Razak.

Since a shock election victory in May, Mahathir blamed the Najib administration for raising the government’s debt and liabilities, totalling to more than 1 trillion ringgit, as well as other financial concerns surrounding money laundering investigations – despite Najib pleading not guilty to any allegations.