Baidu markets debut dim sum bond in first offering since 2021

CHINESE technology giant Baidu began marketing offshore yuan-denominated bonds of five- and 10-year tenors, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The company is selling the dim sum bonds at an initial price guidance of 3 per cent annual coupon rate for the five-year note and 3.4 per cent for the 10-year one, the source said, asking not to be identified. Baidu, known for its leading search engine in China, aims to raise as much as 10 billion yuan (S$1.8 billion) in the sale, Bloomberg reported earlier.

If successful, the deal would be Baidu’s first bond offering since 2021 and first-ever yuan-denominated note, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A Baidu representative did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The offering comes as the company faces the Apr 7 maturity of a US$600 million dollar note and heightened competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) business, one of its fastest-growing segments.

Its cloud revenue grew 26 per cent in the December quarter, owing to the generative AI boom. But that was not enough to stem a third straight quarterly revenue drop as competition ramps up for Internet search and AI businesses. BLOOMBERG