The bonds are expected to be listed on the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
CHINESE technology firm Baidu raised US$2 billion in a sale of bonds exchangeable into the Hong Kong shares of online travel agency Trip.com Group, matching the biggest ever US dollar offering in the format by an Asian issuer.
The exchangeable bonds are due in 2032, Baidu said on Friday (Mar 7). The Beijing-based search engine operator said it plans to use proceeds from the offering to repay debt, pay interest and spend on general corporate purposes.
The bonds, which carry zero coupon, priced at an exchange premium of about 43 per cent over the price of HK$491 per Trip.com share set in a related private transaction, the release showed. Trip.com shares closed at HK$511.50 each in Hong Kong on Friday.
The deal came after Baidu this week sold 10 billion yuan (S$1.8 billion) of bonds outside of mainland China in its first debt issuance since 2021. Baidu is among Trip.com’s major shareholders.
Baidu has become just the latest in a string of companies making the most of a rally in Chinese stocks to raise cash. Earlier this week, electric vehicle maker BYD raised US$5.6 billion in a share sale that was Hong Kong’s biggest in nearly four years.
DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough has fuelled a stock-buying frenzy in Chinese stocks. The tech sector got another boost this week after Beijing said at the National People’s Congress that it would support the extensive application of large-scale AI models and the development of new-generation intelligent terminals and manufacturing equipment.
Still, Baidu’s shares have missed out on much of the move: Its Hong Kong-listed stock is up 9.8 per cent this year, underperforming the 35 per cent gain in the Hang Seng Tech Index over the same period.
Baidu last month reported its third straight quarterly revenue drop, underscoring concerns its Internet search and AI businesses are buckling under fierce competition.
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America arranged the exchangeable bond, the terms show. The bonds are expected to be listed on the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. BLOOMBERG
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