Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) fell to a quarterly loss on Tuesday, as its giant Vision Fund investment unit remained in the red for a fourth straight quarter, sharpening focus on when markets will recover enough to allow it to list some assets.
The Vision Fund, which upended the world of technology with its big bets on startups, reported an investment loss of 730.36 billion yen ($5.52 billion) in the fiscal third quarter. At SoftBank itself, the net loss totalled 783.42 billion yen, compared with a 29.05 billion yen profit a year earlier.
The results could make investors even more keen to see an initial public offering (IPO) of British chip designer Arm, considered one of the sprawling conglomerate’s prize assets. SoftBank aims to list Arm by March 2024, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told a briefing following the release of the results.
Still, he sounded cautious about business overall.
“The situation remains tough,” he said.
The market turmoil since last year – and SoftBank’s results themselves – show how rising interest rates, deepening U.S.-China tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have worked to blunt investor appetite for riskier assets, casting a shadow over the Japanese group’s vast portfolio of startup investments.
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