The overseas operations of social media giant ByteDance, owner of hit short video platforms TikTok and Douyin, are expected to receive a boost from its reported plan to borrow US$9.5 billion from banks.
That loan would represent the biggest dollar-denominated corporate facility in Asia, excluding Japan, according to separate reports earlier this week by Bloomberg and Reuters, both of which cited sources familiar with the matter.
ByteDance needs some of the proceeds from the US dollar-denominated loan for its overseas businesses, according to Li Chengdong, founder and chief analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Dolphin.
The company’s overseas e-commerce operation, for example, is still in an “input phase” that requires hundreds of millions of dollars to build up its ecosystem, Li said. The loan can also help “maintain [good] connection with the banks”, he added.
“It is also common practice for Chinese tech giants, including the likes of Tencent Holdings and JD.com, to issue bonds overseas because foreign currency exchange can be difficult,” Li said.
