vested
Xiaomi re-enters loan market
by Stella Zhai
Xiaomi (1810) is returning to the loan market after a two-year absence with a US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) refinancing facility.
The Chinese smartphone maker is in early discussions with lenders for a five-year bullet club loan at an all-in rate of low to mid 100 basis points over the London Inter-bank Offered Rate. That could mark Xiaomi's cheapest loan in the market with its longest tenor.
The latest loan is expected to be borrowed via Xiaomi Best Time International, and guaranteed by Xiaomi Corporation. The last loan was secured at all-in pricing of 250 to 260 basis points with a margin of 215 basis points over Libor.
Market response to Xiaomi's latest phone, the Mi MIX Alpha, is said to be sluggish because of its high price. The handset is priced at 19,999 yuan (HK$22,455), more than twice the cost of the latest iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Meanwhile, Huawei revealed its sales in Hong Kong rose 47 percent from a year ago for the first eight months of this year. The company said its global shipment climbed 24 percent so far this year, with 16 million Mate series phones and 17 million P30 phones.
Huawei recently launched the Huawei nova 5T at a price of HK$3,088.
Source: The Standard
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-n ... 0926&sid=2