Baidu shares rise on notes offering plan

Investing.com-- Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose on Monday, extending strong gains from last week after the Chinese internet giant said it planned to raise more capital through a notes issuance.

Baidu Inc (HK:9888) (NASDAQ: BIDU) rose as much as 4% to a near six-month high of HK$101.60, helping drive a 0.2% rise in the Hang Seng index. Broader HK tech stocks also rose on Monday, with Alibaba Group (HK:9988) up 4%, while Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) added 1%.

Baidu said earlier on Monday that it planned to offer yuan-denominated senior unsecured notes in offshore transactions outside the United States. Baidu did not specify the size or the terms of the offering.

The company had earlier this year outlined plans to raise over $3 billion through bond issuances, reports had shown, as it moves to shore up cash levels and invest more in artificial intelligence.

Baidu’s shares surged nearly 9% last week in extended gains after its second-quarter earnings showed an increase in its AI returns, although they did not offset an overall decline in revenue stemming from a tougher environment for e-commerce.

Still, the company remained optimistic over the pick-up in demand for its AI offerings, and flagged a prudent approach towards monetizing its AI features.

The company raised billions of dollars in the past two years as it spent heavily on advancing its AI development and launching more models and features. Baidu, along with peers Alibaba, Tencent, and Bytedance, is among the biggest Chinese spenders on AI development.

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