Tencent mulls US$5 billion bond offering as AI push ramps up

TENCENT Holdings is considering an offshore bond sale of as much as US$5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the wave of tech companies seeking debt financing as artificial intelligence needs grow. 

The notes could be denominated in dollars and offshore yuan and the sale may come as early as this month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

While no details were available on how the money would be used, the development comes after Tencent raised nearly US$4.7 billion from the sale of long-dated dollar and yuan securities in June, in its largest debt offering since 2020.

Proceeds from that deal were mainly for debt refinancing and general corporate purposes, such as developing AI products and services.

The potential bond sale adds to a global fundraising rush by tech companies as they seek to build up their artificial intelligence capabilities, despite rising investor concerns about the sector. Just last month, SoftBank Group raised the equivalent of US$11.1 billion through the one of the largest corporate junk-bond offerings on record in an effort to fund its massive AI ambitions. 

SoftBank’s deal was seen by some as a litmus test for how debt investors are thinking about AI financing amid warnings about the technology’s potential risks and the need to impose guardrails around its development.

Tencent didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Global AI-related debt issuance has already topped US$575 billion in 2026, according to a recent report by Goldman Sachs credit strategists, despite worries about potential consequences for markets if the technology fails to pay off for firms making the biggest investments. 

Tencent has around US$22 billion of offshore notes outstanding and no public bonds maturing this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has one dollar bond due in 2028.

SEE ALSO

DeepSeek to raise at least US$12 billion in Tencent-backed funding

Moonshot said to eye Hong Kong IPO in early 2027 after value hits US$50 billion

The company has been ramping up its AI-related spending as it tries to catch up to rivals such as ByteDance and Alibaba Group Holding, raising capital expenditures by 176 per cent on AI projects and computing to 52.8 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) in the June quarter.

Tencent aims to develop artificial intelligence models akin to the best from DeepSeek or Moonshot AI, such as the Hy4 for later in 2026.

It already operates one of the country’s largest AWS-like cloud services, offering computing to clients keen to develop their own AI platforms. BLOOMBERG