* Turkey's first Samurai in 10 yrs may come December -JBIC
* Amount would match biggest-ever with JBIC guarantee
* Size, timing not yet finalised -JBIC
(Adds detail)
By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Turkey is likely to issue Samurai bonds worth around 150 billion yen ($1.80 billion) as early as December, the head of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation said on Friday.
The amount would match the largest-ever issue with a guarantee from JBIC, the international arm of state-owned bank Japan Finance Corp.
Hiroshi Watanabe, president and chief executive of JBIC, told reporters that the Turkish plan to print yen-denominated bonds, its first such issuance in a decade, would help the country diversify its funding sources.
"I was told within this year it must be done," Watanabe said. "The Turkish government is going for a similar size to that (borrowed by Mexico)."
Mexico has issued Samurai bonds worth 150 billion yen twice in the past year.
A JBIC official later said the amount and the timing of issuance were not yet finalised.
The Turkish Treasury said in April it was in talks with JBIC on re-entering the Samurai market.
JBIC has offered guarantees on yen-denominated debt issues from Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines in the wake of the global financial crisis to help them diversify their funding sources and currency exposures.
Turkey issued 19 yen bonds between 1992 and 2000, raising a total of around $8 billion.
Turkey has said in the past its foreign currency-denominated debt as a proportion of total debt is falling, helping reduce its forex risk.
But it this month reopened a euro-denominated bond to raise 500 million euros at 4.25 percent, its lowest yield to date, according to the country's Treasury, amid strong demand. ($1=83.58 Yen) (Editing by Joseph Radford)