Alphabet is planning its first bond issuance in Asian currencies and the Singapore dollar

Alphabet is planning to raise approximately $3 billion equivalent through its first issuance of bonds denominated in Hong Kong and Singapore dollars. According to Reuters, citing two sources close to the matter, the company wants to gauge demand from Asian investors after AI-related fears triggered a wave of stock sell-offs in global markets earlier this month.

According to one source, the amount raised through the issuance is expected to reach at least $2.2 billion. Alphabet is considering issuing Hong Kong dollar-denominated bonds worth at least HK$8 billion (approximately $1 billion), and Singapore dollar-denominated bonds worth at least S$1.5 billion (approximately $1.2 billion).

The final size, timing and interest terms of the issuance have not yet been determined. The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

According to a terms document seen by Reuters on Wednesday, Alphabet has appointed HSBC and JPMorgan as global coordinators for the issuance. Bank of China (Hong Kong), ICBC (Asia) and Standard Chartered will also work on the Hong Kong dollar bond issuance, while DBS, OCBC and UOB will handle the Singapore dollar portion.

According to the document, the Hong Kong dollar-denominated bonds may have maturities of two, five and ten years. For the Singapore dollar issuance, maturities of two, five, ten and 30 years are being considered.

AI Infrastructure Driving the Company's Borrowing Growth

The new bond issuance will further increase the amount Alphabet has raised from capital markets this year. The company is expanding its investments in data centers and AI computing infrastructure, which requires substantial funding resources.

According to a filing submitted by Alphabet on October 29, during the nine months ended in late September the company issued $45 billion worth of US dollar-denominated bonds and $35.8 billion worth of foreign currency-denominated bonds for general corporate purposes.

Last week, the company raised an additional €6 billion (approximately $6.7 billion) through the sale of euro-denominated bonds. In August, Alphabet issued $25 billion in US dollar bonds and A$5.5 billion (approximately $3.8 billion) in Australian dollar bonds.

Other major technology companies are also actively tapping the debt market. Last week, Meta completed a $15 billion US dollar bond issuance, while Oracle sold $10 billion in bonds.

Alphabet's planned issuance in Asian currencies points to an expansion of tech giants' financing strategies — companies are raising the capital needed for AI infrastructure development not only from their own revenues and bonds issued in the US market, but also from international debt markets.