“SoftBank’s Vision Fund Loses 4.3 Trillion Yen Despite Unicorn Shares”

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – SoftBank Vision Fund lost 4.3 trillion yen (Rp 473 trillion) even though the investment fund is the owner of many unicorn shares, including GoTo and Grab.

SoftBank Vision Fund’s losses are still ballooning even though technology stocks on the stock market are starting to rebound after a slump throughout 2022.

During the tax year ending March 31, 2023, the Vision Fund posted a loss of 4.3 trillion yen compared to a loss of 2.55 trillion yen in the previous period.

The losses at the investment fund led by Masayoshi Son cost SoftBank a loss of 5.28 trillion yen in the same period compared to a loss of 3.43 trillion a year earlier.

SoftBank Vision Fund managed to make significant profits from the sale of shares of well-known technology companies such as Uber. However, sharp declines in the share prices of Chinese AI companies SenseTime and GoTo have cost them heavy losses.

SoftBank is one of the big-name investors in Tokopedia and Grab. After Tokopedia merged with GoTo, SoftBank became one of the owners of GoTo.

In addition to Uber, SoftBank has decided to sell their shares in global technology companies in search of cash. SoftBank’s losses were reduced through the sale of shares in T-Mobile and Alibaba. SoftBank’s stake in Uber will be sold in August 2022.

According to SoftBank CFO Yoshimitsu Goto, quoted by CNBC International, companies whose shares are owned by SoftBank have adequate capital. He stated that SoftBank has a number of companies ready to be listed, which currently have a total valuation of US$ 37 billion.

Vision Fund was formed by Son to invest in companies that are predicted to grow fast. However, anxiety in the stock market over high interest rates is driving investors away from shares of high-risk companies such as technology firms.

Huge losses at SoftBank forced Son to step down.

(the/the)