Hong Kong-listed Tencent eyes global note issuance amid AI investment surge
Firm expands note programme to up to US$30 billion and proposes international offering to professional investors in next 12 months
Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings plans to issue new notes to international investors in the coming year, joining the fundraising wave by Hong Kong-listed AI companies looking to fund expansion in the rapidly growing sector.
The Shenzhen-based firm updated its global medium-term note programme with a maximum limit of US$30 billion, proposing an international offering to certain professional investors in the coming 12 months, according to exchange filings on Monday.
The net proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, Tencent said, without providing details of the new fundraising amount. The social media and video game giant added that its outstanding notes under the programme totalled US$17.51 billion as of Monday.
The latest issuance plan comes nine months after its last update on the US$30 billion note programme in mid-September last year, which saw a 9 billion yuan (US$1.33 billion) offering in the same month – Tencent’s first-ever yuan-denominated bonds.
Global AI firms are expanding their financing plans to take on deeper investments in a bid to secure a competitive advantage. In the US, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set for a US$75 billion initial public offering (IPO) this week, and Google owner Alphabet raised US$85 billion in equity offerings.
