ICBC, HSBC among major lenders on ByteDance’s $30 billion financing
By Aileen Chuang
ByteDance Ltd., the developer of TikTok, has signed a $29.6 billion loan with more than two dozens lenders, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc, in one of Asia’s biggest dollar-denominated deals this year.
The three-year borrowing, which could be extended to as long as five years, attracted 28 banks, some of which committed via various branches or subsidiaries, according to a person familiar with the matter. The signing took place last week, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
Chinese banks emerged as the biggest lender group, with 15 of them committing a combined $18.9 billion, or 64% of the upsized loan. ICBC agreed to fund $3 billion, followed by Bank of China Ltd.’s $2.5 billion and China Construction Bank’s $1.5 billion.
HSBC was one of the top foreign banks in the lender group in terms of commitment amount, providing $1.5 billion.
ByteDance, HSBC, ICBC, BOC and CCB didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal signals that support for the Chinese tech giant, which is on the forefront of developing artificial intelligence technology, is still strong, despite a tight interest margin. The loan size was a jump from the $20 billion ByteDance was originally seeking.
The financing came together just days before leaders of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence platforms, including OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei and xAI Corp. co-founder Elon Musk, said it’s time to slow the development pace of their most advanced — and most lucrative — models, citing escalating risks of the technology.
Proceeds from ByteDance’s loan will be used for general corporate purposes, as it builds up its AI ambitions. ByteDance’s last loan deal was in 2024, when it raised $10.8 billion via about 20 lenders.
Its latest loan is Asia’s second-largest dollar-denominated borrowing this year, behind SoftBank Group Corp.’s $40 billion bridge loan signed in March. It offers an opening margin of 68 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, which will adjust if it extends the tenor. As a comparison, SoftBank’s bridge loan would pay an initial margin of about 250 basis point over the same benchmark.
