China's Tencent draws $41 bn orders for $5 bn bond sale

Chinese gaming and social media titan Tencent has raised $5 billion in a bond issue which attracted orders totalling more than $41 billion for its biggest dollar-denominated sale so far, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The group, known for its wildly popular "Honour of Kings" video game and ubiquitous WeChat social media platform, Thursday offered four tranches with maturities ranging from five to 20 years, according to the financial news agency.

Tencent refused to comment when contacted by AFP.

In a sign of the appetite for the Chinese giant's debt, the offer -- which was primarily aimed at US investors -- drew orders totalling more than $41 billion, Bloomberg said, citing a source close to the transaction.

Tencent's last bond issue raised $2.5 billion in 2015. Its e-book arm China Literature raised $1.1 billion for a Hong Kong listing in November 2017.

The new deal is similar to one in November by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which raised $7 billion in an issue reserved for US institutional investors.

Tencent is pushing to build up its entertainment and gaming businesses and has signalled plans to extend a gaming empire built around WeChat by buying studios and pushing into content creation.

It also has made no secret of its ambition to diversify and for international expansion.

In the United States, the group has already invested in Snapchat and electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Tencent also recently entered into a cross-shareholding agreement with Sweden's Spotify, the world's largest music streaming company.