Tencent logo on its office. Credit: Tencent
Tencent Holdings, China’s leading gaming and social media company, raised 9 billion yuan (US$1.27 billion) this week through a three-tranche offshore yuan bond deal. The company sold 2 billion yuan of five-year bonds at 2.1%, 6 billion yuan of ten-year bonds at 2.5%, and 1 billion yuan of thirty-year bonds at 3.1%. Final pricing came about 50 basis points tighter than initial guidance, and Tencent had initially targeted around US$1 billion, [Reuters]. The fundraising comes as Tencent reins in capital expenditure after heavy investment in artificial intelligence. Spending dropped from 36.6 billion yuan in Q4 2024 to 27.5 billion yuan in Q1 2025 and further to 19.1 billion yuan in Q2. In August, executives told analysts the company would take a more measured approach, aiming for sustainable monetisation of AI projects. [Reuters]
