A couple of months back Masayoshi Son asked his top team at SoftBank to slow their investment plans. No wonder. On Thursday, the Japanese technology investment group logged a record annual loss at its Vision Fund unit after technology shares worldwide collapsed. SoftBank founder Son, ever the optimist, nevertheless maintains the group deserves a higher valuation.
SoftBank’s annual net loss totalled ¥1.7tn ($13bn), while its Vision Fund unit posted an investment loss of ¥3.5tn ($27bn) for the year to March. This marked the biggest annual loss for the group since Son shifted from telecoms to tech investment. An 80 per cent plunge in shares of South Korean ecommerce platform Coupang — of which SoftBank is the largest shareholder — since it listed last year, as well as a mark down on some of its unlisted asset valuations all played a part.
Son deserves some credit for his effort at diversifying away from China as crackdowns intensified, down to around a tenth by portfolio worth. Part of that reduction is simply due to plummeting market valuations there.