Hong Kong debt market heats up as Tencent, Swire raise US$5.2b in multi-currency deals
Investor appetite for Hong Kong debt is growing, with the offerings reinforcing the city’s role as a global bond hub
The issuers, ranging from China’s tech champion to one of its oldest conglomerates, offered bonds across multiple currencies – US dollars, offshore yuan and Hong Kong dollars – highlighting the breadth of Hong Kong’s fundraising platform.
Tencent unveiled on Wednesday a dual-currency bond package worth US$2.45 billion in US dollar notes and 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) in offshore yuan notes, two days after announcing an issuance plan under its global medium-term note programme with a ceiling of US$30 billion.
The nearly US$4.7 billion fundraising marked the largest for the social media and video game giant in six years.
The company said estimated net proceeds of US$2.43 billion and 14.94 billion yuan would be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing.