Tencent weighs up to $5 billion offshore bond sale to fund AI push, Bloomberg reports

Tencent is considering an offshore bond sale of up to $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tencent had not responded to a Reuters request for comment.

The bonds could be issued in U.S. dollars and offshore yuan, Bloomberg reported. A sale could come early this month. Size, tranches and pricing are not set.

Second big deal in four months

The possible offering follows Tencent's $4.66 billion bond sale in June, its largest debt deal since 2020. Proceeds from that sale went to general corporate purposes, including AI development.

A $5 billion sale would top it. Tencent is one of China's biggest tech companies, and it is now borrowing in international markets to pay for computing capacity. Bloomberg reported the move comes as Tencent ramps up spending on AI and computing infrastructure in line with its peers. Tencent has not said how it would use new proceeds.

Everyone is borrowing for AI

Tencent is not alone. Last month, Japan's SoftBank Group raised about $11.1 billion through a junk-bond offering to fund its AI plans.

In the U.S., the five biggest hyperscalers, the companies that run enormous data centers, sold more than $90 billion in bonds last year, according to Vanguard. They have already sold more than $130 billion so far in 2026.

Those are not shaky borrowers. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft carry investment-grade ratings. But NPR's The Indicator reported that their bonds now compete with U.S. Treasurys for investor dollars, which is helping push up Treasury yields. The government borrows at a higher price when private giants crowd the same buyers.

Zachary Griffiths, who covers U.S. investment-grade debt at the independent research firm CreditSights, told NPR the appetite may not have a hard ceiling. "The limit may not exist, but what does need to shift is how much spread you're getting," he said. In plain terms, buyers will keep lending if they are paid more to do it.

A harder market to borrow in

The backdrop is less friendly than it was a year ago. CNN reported that bond yields have surged in recent weeks, raising borrowing costs, as traders adjust to the Iran war energy shock and central banks raising rates.

That has already cost some companies their listing plans. Oura delayed its debut last week, citing market uncertainty. Holtec Nuclear suspended its IPO. OpenAI said it would delay its IPO until next year because of AI safety concerns.

Heath Terry, head of AI investment research at Citi, told CNN the cause is a mix of factors. "You've got rising rates. You've got the war in Iran. You've got the sort of shakier economy ex-AI," he said. He was speaking about IPOs generally, not specific companies.

Anthropic is still pushing ahead. Its IPO could come as soon as November, and the Wall Street Journal has reported it could raise as much as $100 billion at a valuation near $2 trillion. SpaceX holds the record so far, with roughly $86 billion raised at a $1.77 trillion valuation.

The skeptics

Not everyone wants the borrowing spree to continue. Reuters noted the debt raises come amid growing concerns about the stability of the AI sector.

The NPR hosts put the argument from the other side of the ledger. People who oppose a data center in their backyard, they said, "might want this bond-fueled buildout stopped in its tracks." Local fights over where the facilities get built are already a flashpoint in several communities.

The NPR hosts' own answer on demand came with a qualifier. Is there investor demand? Yes, they said, "but with an asterisk."

What to watch

Tencent has not confirmed a deal. If it proceeds, the pricing against initial guidance will show how much extra yield investors demand from a Chinese tech borrower at a time when yields are rising and AI supply keeps hitting the market. That read will arrive before Anthropic's possible November listing, which will test the same investor appetite from the equity side.