Chinese tech giant Tencent signs $4.65 billion loan deal

HONG KONG: Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has signed a $4.65 billion loan deal, Basis Point reported, amid a flurry of fund-raising by China's internet giants.

Tencent, which had an original target of about $2 billion for the loan, inked the deal on March 24 following commitments from a dozen banks, Thomson Reuters publication Basis Point reported, citing sources.

The loans for general corporate purposes comprise a $2.79 billion term loan and a $1.86 billion revolving credit. Citigroup was the coordinator, mandated lead arranger and bookrunner of the facility.

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.

It reported net profit of 41.1 billion yuan ($5.97 billion) last year on Wednesday, up 43 percent, on revenue that rose 48 percent to 151.94 billion yuan.

Tencent raised $7.94 billion in two syndicated loans in the past nine months, including $3.5 billion in October to back a deal for a majority stake in Finnish mobile game developer Supercell Oy.

Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters.