Huawei Secures $2.3 Billion Offshore Loan as AI Chip Spending Surges

Huawei Technologies has secured a 15 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) loan from a group of Chinese banks, as the company's spending on chips to power artificial intelligence projects continues to climb. The seven-year offshore yuan-denominated loan was arranged by six lenders, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes.

First offshore syndicated loan since 2020

The financing marks Huawei's first offshore syndicated borrowing since 2020, when it raised an HK$11.8 billion (about $1.5 billion) loan, and underscores how central domestic Chinese lenders have become to Huawei's funding since the US imposed restrictions on the company in 2019. With access to international capital markets largely closed off, Chinese banks have stepped in to meet the company's borrowing needs.

That need has grown more pressing this year: Huawei boosted research spending to 121 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, while surging memory-chip prices pushed it to stock up on supplies ahead of further cost increases. That stockpiling contributed to a negative cash flow of 39.9 billion yuan in the period, eating into the company's profit even as its underlying chip and AI investments continue to expand.