STOCKS | AI Borrowing Boom Reshapes Switzerland's Bond Market

U.S. AI companies' borrowing boom is reshaping Switzerland's traditionally conservative bond market, with tech giants issuing billions of Swiss francs in debt locally. According to Sina Finance, analysts said the influx of AI debt has begun to pressure domestic borrowers, while Zurich Insurance research showed AI-related companies accounted for 26.4% of Swiss franc corporate bond issuance so far this year, the highest share among major credit markets. According to Sina Finance, Oddo BHF chief economist and head of investment office Arthur Jurus said large cloud providers' bond sales represent a structural change in the Swiss market. Zurich Insurance estimated that Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle will together spend about $5.5 trillion on capital expenditures between 2025 and 2030. According to Sina Finance, Jurus said Swiss corporate finance chiefs are now trying to avoid the weeks when hyperscale cloud providers market large bond deals, either by shifting issuance windows or reducing deal sizes. Zurich Insurance market strategy head Punit Sharma said the arrival of hyperscale cloud providers is broadly positive for the Swiss market, but warned that concentration limits could become a constraint in a small market. EFG chief economist Stefan Gerlach said the influx of foreign giants is likely to pressure other borrowers and push financing costs higher.