軟銀發行111億美元債券，創全球最大高收益公司債發行紀錄

安東・布里奇報導By Anton Bridge

東京9月24日（路透）—— 軟銀集團（SoftBank Group）發行美元及歐元計價債券，募得111億美元，創下全球有紀錄以來規模最大的高收益公司債發行案。這家科技投資集團正尋求資金，以支應其對OpenAI的巨額押注。TOKYO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group has raised $11.1 billion in dollar- and euro-denominated bonds in the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally on record as the tech investment conglomerate seeks to fund its mammoth bet on OpenAI.

這筆交易是今年企業借款因AI投資而激增的最新例子；此前，亞馬遜（Amazon）與Alphabet等大型科技公司也已大規模發債。The deal is the latest example of how AI investments have led to a surge in corporate borrowing this year, adding to major bond sales from large tech firms like Amazon and Alphabet.

這次籌資之前，軟銀本月才面向散戶投資人發行1兆日圓（63億美元）債券。此舉可能使外界進一步檢視軟銀的財務狀況；若市場對OpenAI及人工智慧產業的情緒大幅轉弱，軟銀財務可能變得脆弱。The funding follows a 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion) bond issue aimed at retail investors this month, and is likely to prompt further scrutiny of SoftBank's finances, which could become vulnerable should market sentiment towards OpenAI and the artificial intelligence sector weaken significantly.

在孫正義（Masayoshi Son）領導下，軟銀已承諾向ChatGPT開發商投入646億美元，預計到下週將持有約13%股權。孫正義長年以大膽押注聞名，如今則致力於讓這家日本公司成為AI領域的主導投資者。Under the leadership of Masayoshi Son, known for bold bets throughout his long career and now keen to make the Japanese firm the dominant investor in AI, SoftBank has committed $64.6 billion to the ChatGPT-maker, of which it will own roughly 13% by next week.

軟銀也正以54億美元收購ABB的機器人事業，並以31億美元收購DigitalBridge。It is also acquiring ABB's robotics business for $5.4 billion and DigitalBridge for $3.1 billion.

軟銀長期以來一直是垃圾債券發行人；其AI相關投資規模龐大，加上為支應這些投資而尋求的資金數額可觀，使軟銀需支付的殖利率升高，為其債務違約投保的成本也上升。The sheer size of its AI-related investments and the amount of money it has sought to fund them has led to higher yields to pay for SoftBank, which has long been a junk-bond issuer, as well as jumps in the cost of insuring its debt against default.

惠譽評等（Fitch Ratings）資深董事青山悟（Satoru Aoyama）表示：「市場的承接意願讓我正面驚訝。」"I was positively surprised by the market appetite," said Satoru Aoyama, senior director at Fitch Ratings.

青山表示：「美國的超大規模雲端服務商（hyperscalers）一直在舉債，但它們信用評等很高。如今，由AI帶動的債券發行已大規模進入高收益市場。」"Hyperscalers in the US have been raising debt but they have high credit ratings. Now AI-driven debt issuance has reached the high-yield market at scale," Aoyama said.

根據倫敦證券交易所集團（LSEG）資料，超大規模雲端服務商今年發債金額已增加逾一倍，超過2,000億美元。分析師預期，今年還會有更多發行案。The value of bond sales from hyperscalers has more than doubled this year to over $200 billion, according to LSEG data. Analysts expect more to come this year.

但如此龐大的借款規模，也成為推升全球借貸成本的因素之一。隨著資本競爭升溫，全球借貸成本近幾週已大幅上揚。But the sheer scale of that borrowing has been one of the factors putting pressure on global borrowing costs, which have surged in recent weeks, as the competition for capital heats up.

申報文件顯示，軟銀發行了美元計價優先票據，包括10億美元、3年半期，45億美元、5年半期，以及45億美元、7年半期。這些債券票息分別為8.625%、9.25%和9.75%。SoftBank issued dollar-denominated senior notes of $1 billion at a 3-1/2-year term, $4.5 billion at 5-1/2 years and $4.5 billion at 7-1/2 years, a filing showed. The bonds pay interest rates of 8.625%, 9.25% and 9.75% respectively.

軟銀也發行兩檔各5億歐元的歐元計價優先票據，期限分別為4年與6年，殖利率為7.125%與8%。It also issued two €500 million tranches of euro-denominated senior notes with terms of four and six years, yielding 7.125% and 8%.

相較之下，軟銀2021年6月發行73億美元的美元及歐元計價優先債券時，殖利率介於2.125%至5.25%。By comparison, a $7.3 billion SoftBank issuance in June 2021 of senior dollar- and euro-denominated bonds yielded between 2.125% and 5.25%.

和軟銀一樣，超大規模雲端服務商也已把借款範圍擴大到美元債券市場之外；鑑於資金需求龐大，它們今年愈來愈多轉向歐元及其他貨幣，以分散資金來源。Like SoftBank, hyperscalers have also expanded their borrowing beyond the US dollar bond market, increasingly tapping the euro and other currencies this year to diversify their funding sources given their massive financing needs.

搶籌資金FUNDING SCRAMBLE

LSEG資料顯示，這次發債成為迄今全球規模最大的高收益公司債發行案，超越法國電信公司Numericable Group在2014年發行的109億美元債券。The sale marks the largest high-yield corporate bond issuance globally to date, surpassing French telecoms firm Numericable Group's $10.9 billion issuance in 2014, LSEG data showed.

軟銀2026年至今已發行146億美元高收益債，占亞太及日本高收益公司債市場的63.4%。SoftBank has issued $14.6 billion in high-yield bonds so far in 2026, making up 63.4% of the Asia Pacific and Japan high-yield corporate bond market.

軟銀也出售資產，並以其持有的晶片設計公司Arm與OpenAI股份作為擔保取得貸款，以支應其投資承諾。It has also sold off assets and taken out loans backed by its holdings in chip designer Arm and OpenAI to fund its commitments.

軟銀原本希望透過OpenAI及資料中心開發子公司SB Energy公開上市帶來資金流入，但近幾週希望受挫，因兩家公司都延後了原定最快本月啟動的IPO計畫。SoftBank's hopes for an influx of cash through the public listings of OpenAI and data centre development subsidiary SB Energy were dented in recent weeks as both delayed IPO plans that were set to launch as early as this month.

CreditSights電信與媒體主管馬克・查普曼（Mark Chapman）在報告中寫道：「軟銀信用面臨的風險相當大，且隨著集中度提高、現金流承受重大壓力，風險已經增加。」"Risks for SoftBank credit are material and have increased as concentration has increased and cash flow has come under material strain," CreditSights' head of telecom and media Mark Chapman wrote in a note.

查普曼估算，按目前水準，軟銀持有的Arm與OpenAI股份占集團資產價值的四分之三。SoftBank's holdings in Arm and OpenAI make up three-quarters of the group's asset value at current levels, he calculated.

為軟銀債務違約投保的成本已急升；5年期信用違約交換利差本週超過400個基點，相較之下6月約為280個基點。The cost of insuring SoftBank's debt against default has shot up, with the 5-year credit default swap spread exceeding 400 basis points this week, compared with around 280 basis points in June.

不過，標普全球評級（S&P Global Ratings）的吉村真紀子（Makiko Yoshimura）在報告中寫道，Arm股價表現強勁，支撐了軟銀的信用品質，因此OpenAI延後IPO不會立即對軟銀的信用品質造成負面影響。However, S&P Global Ratings' Makiko Yoshimura wrote in a note that Arm's strong share price performance has supported SoftBank's credit quality such that the delay to OpenAI's IPO does not have an immediate negative impact on SoftBank's creditworthiness.

CreditSights的查普曼認為，若OpenAI的IPO「及時且成功」，軟銀在中期有可能獲得評等調升。CreditSights' Chapman sees the potential for a ratings upgrade in the intermediate term if OpenAI's IPO is "timely and successful."

由於東京市場本週週一至週三因國定假日休市，軟銀股價週四收盤上漲0.6%。SoftBank's shares ended Thursday up 0.6% after Tokyo markets were closed from Monday to Wednesday this week for national holidays.

（1美元＝158.2500日圓）($1=158.2500 yen)

（安東・布里奇報導，Yoruk Bahceli補充報導；克拉倫斯・費南德茲、艾德溫娜・吉布斯及湯瑪斯・德平豪斯編輯）(Reporting by Anton Bridge, additional reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Edwina Gibbs and Thomas Derpinghaus)