‘Blizzard’ hits SoftBank with loss on sinking investments

‘Blizzard’ hits SoftBank with loss on sinking investments

TOKYO: Japan’s SoftBank Group yesterday suffered its first quarterly net loss in 18 months as a China tech crackdown and other investment losses hit its Vision Fund portfolio. The telecoms firm-turned-investment giant also announced a share buyback worth one trillion yen ($8.8 billion), reportedly under pressure from shareholders frustrated by its sinking stock price.

SoftBank Group has poured money into some of the tech world’s biggest names and hottest new ventures-including embattled Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing-through its $100-billion Vision Fund. But CEO Masayoshi Son’s strategy of targeting tech firms and start-ups in search of unicorns has been controversial and led to an earnings rollercoaster in recent years.

Son said the firm was “in the middle of a blizzard” as it recorded a net loss of 397.9 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in July-September. It was hit particularly hard by a drop in the value of Alibaba, but also took a hit from slumps in other Chinese tech companies as well as South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang, with first-half net profit down more than 80 percent on-year. In total, SoftBank said its loss on investments during the quarter amounted to 1.66 trillion yen including those incurred by its Vision