Amid continued momentum in 2026, there have been more large deals in Asia’s corporate bond market over the last few weeks. China’s Tencent Holdings and State Grid International Development have tapped the international bond markets, while Taiwan’s ASUS Global has made a $2 billion debut offshore syndicated loan for ASUS Global in Singapore.
Tencent has priced $1.8 billion and Rmb26 billion ($3.89 billion) of senior unsecured notes across four tranches on October 13 under its $30 billion global medium-term note programme.
The US dollar issuance comprised $1.3 billion of 10-year notes carrying a 6.1% annual coupon and $500 million of 20-year notes at 6.75%. The Renminbi portion included Rmb20 billion of 10-year notes paying 2.4% and Rmb6 billion of 30-year notes at 3%.
Tencent completed the issuance on October 21, with the notes listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on October 22, according to a filing.
Estimated net proceeds were approximately $1.79 billion and Rmb25.9 billion after underwriting fees, discounts and commissions. Tencent said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
BofA Securities, Citi, HSBC and JP Morgan acted as joint global coordinators for the US dollar notes. ICBC (Asia), Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, CITIC Securities, HSBC and JP Morgan were joint global coordinators for the Renminbi notes.
HSBC said in a statement that the transactions are the largest-ever publicly offered 10-year CNH bond and one of the largest publicly offered 30-year CNH bond. Demand for the two Renminbi tranches exceeded Rmb100 billion at final pricing guidance, nearly four times the Rmb26 billion issued.
The renminbi notes were lodged, cleared and settled through Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) OmniClear on October 21. The clearing platform said the transaction was Tencent’s largest dim sum bond issuance lodged with the CMU.
State Grid international arm draws from A
Separately, State Grid International Development (SGID) is expected to list its debut Australian dollar bond on HKEX on October 26. The offering comprises A$500 million ($350 million) of five-year senior unsecured notes.
The transaction marks SGID’s return to the offshore bond market since 2022. Investor demand exceeded A$2.7 billion at final pricing, representing more than five times the amount issued, according to HKEX.
The notes were issued by State Grid Europe Development (2014), a wholly owned subsidiary of SGID, under its $10 billion guaranteed medium-term note programme. SGID has fully, irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed the notes and intends to use the proceeds for refinancing and general corporate purposes.
S&P Global Ratings assigned the notes an A+ rating, in line with its issuer credit rating on SGID, while Fitch Ratings rated them A. Both agencies link SGID’s credit strength closely to its parent, State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid), for which it serves as the principal platform for overseas power and energy investment.
In August, State Grid issued Rmb14.9 billion of dim sum bonds and listed on HKEX.
ASUS secures syndicated loan for AI push
In Singapore, ASUS Global, the wholly owned Singapore subsidiary of Taiwan’s ASUSTeK Computer (ASUS), has secured a $2 billion syndicated financing, marking the group’s first syndicated loan in the offshore market.
“The world is entering an artificial intelligence (AI) supercycle”, ASUS chief financial officer and spokesperson Nick Wu said in a media release, adding that the group will continue to develop an AI strategy that spans cloud AI, edge AI and physical AI.
“The support from international lenders for this syndicated loan will provide solid momentum for deepening our AI applications and expanding our global presence,” Wu added.
HSBC acted as sole coordinator, mandated lead arranger and bookrunner, and facility agent. The bank said strong lender demand allowed the facility to be upsized to $2 billion. The financing will support the group’s liquidity, financial flexibility, operations and expansion, it added.
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