HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings is in talks with banks to raise up to $2 billion in new debt funding, Basis Point reported, citing three people familiar with the financing plans, amid a flurry of fund-raising by China's internet giants.
Tencent is looking to raise a bullet loan with a five-year maturity, Basis Point, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported. Citigroup (NYSE:C) was coordinating the financing, while at least six Chinese and foreign banks in Hong Kong planned to join.
Tencent, best known for its WeChat mobile app, has been on an investment drive in a wide array of sectors such as gaming, entertainment, cloud computing and online financing as it vies with rivals Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding and Baidu.
Tencent raised $7.94 billion in two syndicated loans in the past nine months, Basis Point said, including $3.5 billion in October to back a deal for a majority stake in Finnish mobile game developer Supercell Oy.
Tencent did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters. Citigroup declined to comment.