Alibaba aims to raise $5 billion in dual currency bond deal, sources say

By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY (Reuters) -China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group is aiming to raise $5 billion in multi-tranche dollar and offshore Chinese yuan bonds, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company confirmed plans for bond fundraising in a regulatory filing on Monday but said the size, interest rate and maturity would be determined as the transaction progressed.

It would be the largest corporate bond deal in the Asia Pacific so far this year, according to LSEG data. Alibaba last tapped the dollar bond market in 2021, the data showed.

The current dollar tranche would consist of a 5.5-year, 10.5-year and 30-year dollar bond, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed.

Alibaba is also working on a 3.5-year, 5-year, 10-year and 20-year offshore yuan tranche, according to the term sheet.

Prospective investors have been told by banks working on the deal that the company is aiming to raise $5 billion, according to the sources.

The sources declined to be identified by name because the information is confidential.

Alibaba said in the filing it would use the cash raised for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment and funding share repurchases.

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Kim Coghill, Cynthia Osterman and Nicholas Yong)