Japan's SoftBank Group logs $5.9 bn loss as tech investments tumble

TOKYO, Feb 07 (business-standard.com) - Japanese investor SoftBank Group reported Tuesday that it sank into a deep loss for the October-December quarter, slammed by the global plunge in technology shares.

SoftBank Group Corp. racked up a 783 billion yen (USD 5.9 billion) loss for the fiscal third quarter, a reversal from the 29 billion yen profit recorded the same period a year ago.

SoftBank invests in hundreds of companies, including mobile carrier SoftBank, web services provider Yahoo, vehicle-for-hire company Didi and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. It also runs the Vision Fund that includes other global investors.

SoftBank Group recorded nearly 512 billion yen (USD 3.9 billion) in losses on investments during the quarter, as prices of its shareholdings and funds nose-dived, it said.

Various uncertainties have slammed Japanese companies recently, such as soaring material costs and rising interest rates. Tensions such as the war in Ukraine have also added to what tends to work as negatives for SoftBank's sprawling portfolio of investments. ...continue reading

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