Our reporter Yuan Chuanxi
On November 30th, Weibo announced the issuance of a 7-year convertible senior note worth $300 million at a rate of 1.375%. Part of the raised funds will be used to refinance existing senior unsecured notes due in 2024 and provide the company with more flexibility in financial and capital allocation.
It is worth noting that the refinancing interest rate of Weibo Company this time is 1.375%, significantly lower than the USD financing interest rate level of Chinese concept stock companies since the beginning of this year. In March this year, iQiyi issued $600 million convertible senior bonds with a term of 5 years and an interest rate of 6.5%. In September, NIO issued two convertible senior bonds totaling $1 billion, with interest rates of 3.875% and 4.625%, respectively.
It is reported that this refinancing has received multiple oversubscription, coupled with the issuance at a lower interest rate, fully reflecting the recovery of the attractiveness of high-quality Chinese concept stocks in overseas markets. The positive feedback from the market on Weibo's refinancing indicates the return of Chinese concept stocks to US dollar financing capabilities in overseas markets, indicating that the long-term growth ability of high-quality Chinese assets continues to be favored by international investors.
Recently, Goldman Sachs and UBS have successively released China's economic outlook reports, optimistic that the Chinese economy will continue to recover. International asset management giants such as Allianz Investment, Franklin Templeton, and Castle Investment have also expressed a bullish view on the investment value of current Chinese assets. As a leading social media platform, Weibo will fully benefit from the steady recovery of the Chinese economy. If we maintain stable operations and continue to achieve special dividends from the previous year in 2024, the increase in dividend returns will hedge the impact of this refinancing on stock prices.