Tencent said it has raised a total of US$6 billion in debt across multiple series of notes.
Photo credit: Tencent
The deal was finalized early today, with the notes expected to be issued on June 3 this year, according to a term sheet. Tencent raised US$1 billion in five-year, nearly US$2.3 billion in 10-year, US$2 billion in 30-year, and US$750 million in 40-year debt.
This is the largest transaction by a non-financial company in Asia so far this year, according to a Reuters report that cites data compiled by Refinitiv.
The Chinese tech giant said it plans to use the proceeds from the bond sale for refinancing and general corporate purposes, without providing more details.
Earlier this week, Tencent said it’s set to invest about US$70 billion over the next five years in emerging tech areas such as cloud computing and AI. The move will support the company in its competition with other tech giants in the country, including Alibaba and Baidu.
Tencent will also issue up to US$20 billion of new bonds to bankroll these plans. After the issuance of the US$6 billion notes, Tencent will have US$18 billion of notes outstanding under the program.
The company recently reported total revenue of US$15.2 billion for the fourth quarter in 2019, its strongest quarter for the financial year. It posted nearly US$3.7 billion in profit, up 29% from the same period in 2018.
Editing by Charmaine de Lazo
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