Cash-rich Alibaba wants more as it plans US bond offering

Alibaba Group Holding, the world's largest e-commerce services provider, is making a big foray into the bond market in the United States close on the heels of its blockbuster initial public offering in New York two months ago.

The Hangzhou-based company is expected to raise as much as US$8 billion in its proposed issue of senior unsecured notes, according to a Bloomberg report that cited sources with knowledge of the matter.

In its US regulatory filing on Thursday, Alibaba said it planned to use the net proceeds from the bond offering primarily to refinance its existing credit facilities.

"The principal amount, interest rates, maturity dates and other terms of the notes have not been finalised and will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering," the company said.

The bonds were assigned a high investment-grade rating of A1 by Moody's Investors Service, while Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings gave it a similar A-plus rating.

On September 19, Alibaba took in about US$25 billion from what is now ranked as the world's biggest flotation.

Net proceeds raised from the listing amounted to US$10 billion after underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses were deducted.