Tencent planning Asia's biggest dollar bond sale
WeChat operator intends using $3bn of new bond proceeds to retire maturing debt
Tencent Holdings, 31% owned by Naspers, is planning to raise around $5bn (R71bn) through a dollar bond sale on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s social media leader received an issuance quota of $6bn from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, people who are not authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identified said. Once priced, this could become the biggest dollar bond offering in Asia excluding Japan so far in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tencent declined to comment. It plans to use about $3bn of the new bond proceeds to retire maturing debt, including the $2bn notes that are due in May, a company executive said in an investor call on Tuesday. Tencent last came to the dollar bond market in January 2018. The spreads over treasuries on those bonds have risen since pricing, with premium on its 10-year tranche up by about 35 basis points. Tencent is recovering from a bruising year of regulatory crackdowns as game...
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