腾讯发行近57亿美元债券（含260亿元离岸人民币点心债）为AI资本开支融资

Tencent Holdings Ltd. is leaning into cheap offshore yuan debt to bankroll its artificial-intelligence infrastructure, the latest prominent example of leading Chinese tech firms using that edge over global rivals.

The Chinese technology giant sold nearly $5.7 billion of bonds this week to support its AI investments in its largest offering in more than six years. In a shift from its previous debt sales, the deal was dominated by dim sum notes, which carried lower borrowing costs.

Tencent priced 26 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) of offshore yuan securities on Tuesday, with its 10-year and 30-year portions carrying coupons of 2.4% and 3%, respectively, well below the more than 6% yields on the dollar notes. In all, the yuan tranche accounted for more than double the amount raised in the dollar portion.

Tencent’s growing preference for dim sum bonds is part of a wider trend among borrowers seeking cheaper yuan financing as dollar yields surge. That could help fuel Chinese technology companies’ spending on AI-related projects. Other firms that are investing heavily in AI, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Kuaishou Technology, have also raised money in the dim sum debt market over the past two years.

Chinese tech companies are taking advantage of the lower funding costs at a time of abundant offshore yuan liquidity, said Zerlina Zeng, head of Asia credit strategy at Creditsights Singapore. New issues from the sector will likely remain strong over the next 12 months as they further ramp up capital expenditures, she said.

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The availability of cheap funding is becoming an even more critical factor in the global AI race as concerns mount over the risks tied to the massive wave of AI investment and debt issuance. Broadcom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan warned this week that insufficient capital could become the next constraint on the industry’s growth.

Even for the highly-rated US tech giants such as Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Nvidia Corp., they all issued 10-year dollar bonds this year at a cost of close to 5% or above, due to elevated dollar bond yields.

Chinese companies by contrast have access to much cheaper funding, largely because policymakers are increasingly steering capital toward strategic sectors, particularly technology.

The central bank’s accommodative monetary stance in recent years has also driven yuan borrowing costs to record lows. The average coupon on corporate yuan bonds issued both onshore and offshore this year has fallen to about 2%. That compares with a yield of roughly 4.9% on three-year US Treasuries, highlighting the significant cost advantage available to Chinese borrowers.

Hong Kong-listed Tencent had long depended on the dollar bond market before its offshore yuan note debut last year. Since then, it’s been ramping up dim sum issuance, helping to reduce costs. The 2.4% coupon for the 10-year tranche this time, for example, is 10 basis points lower than the same—tenor notes sold last year and this June.

The proceeds from Tencent’s bond sale will be primarily for general corporate purposes, such as AI-related capital expenditure, with the bulk of such spending directed toward chip purchases, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.

As one of China’s biggest tech companies, Tencent has been increasing AI-related spending to catch up with rivals. It aims to develop AI models akin to the best from DeepSeek or Moonshot AI, such as the Hy4 for later in 2026. It already operates one of China’s largest AWS-like cloud services, offering computing to clients keen to develop their own AI platforms.