Chinese technology giant Tencent is preparing to raise at least $4.5 billion through a new round of bond issuance, despite global AI-related borrowing having declined by nearly 80% since its peak in June.

This proposed issuance comes after Tencent's capital expenditure more than doubled in the first half of the year. The company's capital expenditure in the first half of the year reached 96.3 billion yuan (14.4 billion US dollars), higher than 45.9 billion yuan in the same period last year.

According to Reuters, the amount of funds Tencent may raise this time could be comparable to its $4.66 billion bond issuance on June 4, although the final scale will still depend on market conditions and investor demand.

This potential transaction shows that, despite the increasingly stringent scrutiny from bond investors, large technology companies are still continuing to seek funds for their expansion in artificial intelligence.

Tencent's AI expenditure increases to $14.4 billion

Tencent's capital expenditure increased by approximately 110% in the first half of the year, reflecting the company's large-scale investments in computing devices, software, and data centers.

These expenditures support Tencent's continuously expanding AI business, as well as its existing gaming, advertising, and cloud services.

In a exchange announcement on October 12, Tencent confirmed its plan to issue senior unsecured notes under its global medium-term note program, with denominations including US dollars and offshore RMB.

The proposed issuance may include 10-year and 20-year U.S. dollar bonds, as well as 10-year and 30-year offshore RMB securities.

Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Morgan Stanley are managing the portion of it that is denominated in US dollars.

However, Tencent has not yet finalized the issuance scale, nor has it signed any binding agreements.

If it ultimately approaches the reported target of $4.5 billion, this transaction will become another large-scale financing round for Tencent within four months, following the company's recent completion of its last bond issuance.

AI Debt issuance plummeted by nearly 80%

Tencent's financing plans stand in sharp contrast to the significantly slower growth of the broader AI debt market.

According to a report by Morgan Stanley cited by the Financial Times, the global issuance of AI-related debt fell from a record $113 billion in June to $23 billion in September.

This means a reduction of $90 billion over three months, which is a decrease of about 79.6%.

This slowdown occurred after record borrowing earlier this year, and as of September, companies had raised approximately $466 billion through AI related debt.

Morgan Stanley believes that the decline is largely due to companies having obtained substantial financing earlier in 2026, rather than lenders completely withdrawing their support.

However, higher interest rates and the uncertainty surrounding the future profitability of AI have also made investors more selective.