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The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. The company currently connects more than 17 million vehicles and Napier said Cubic can update the car from the assembly all the way through its lifetime. "We can update the car in the production line, we can update the car on the ship, we can update the car when it arrives anywhere," Napier said. Cubic will become a consolidated subsidiary of SoftBank Corp, and the deal is set to close in the first half of 2024. Jefferies served as lead financial adviser to Cubic on the deal, while PJT Partners acted as lead financial adviser to SoftBank.

Persons: Issei Kato, Junichi Miyakawa, Barry Napier, SoftBank, Napier, Jefferies, Nick Carey, Nick Zieminski Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Cubic Telecom, Japan, Volkswagen, Qualcomm, Consulting, McKinsey, Co, Reuters, Napier, SoftBank Group, Vision Fund, PJT, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO, Dublin, Irish

☆ Rakuten's mobile misadventure: from ambitious plan to millstone
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

By any measure, cash-bleeding Rakuten Mobile is deeply troubled. Rakuten is set for another tough year in 2024 with investors keen to see if it can achieve its goal of having the mobile unit break even. Those steps have raised some 800 billion yen ($5.4 billion). Then in October, SoftBank Corp (9434.T), Japan's No.3 mobile network provider, began offering a generous reward campaign for most mobile users using SoftBank Group's (9984.T) PayPay online payment system. Without profits, the mobile unit is not likely to entice would-be suitors and competition laws would probably prevent the likes of SoftBank and Docomo from bidding.

Persons: Japan's Rakuten, Hiroshi, Mickey, Rakuten, Mitsunobu Tsuruo, Rakuten's, NTT Docomo, Mikitani, Amir Anvarzadeh, Anton Bridge, David Dolan, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Citi, Amazon Japan, Rakuten Securities, Rakuten Bank, SBI Securities, GUNNING, Rakuten Mobile, Reuters, NTT, SoftBank Corp, Asymmetric Advisors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, ARPU

☆ Rakuten Group's losses, debt burden and financing efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here are some details about its deeply troubled mobile business, the group's operating losses, debt burden and its efforts to shore up its finances. It had 351 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in annual sales last year and accounts for 18% of Rakuten's overall revenue. Rakuten Group currently has total debt of more than 1.5 trillion yen, of which 800 billion yen is due to be redeemed by the end of 2025. Nov 2022 - sells 19.99% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 80 billion yen. Nov 2023 - sells a further 29% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 87 billion yen.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Rakuten, Hiroshi, Mickey, Mikitani, Anton Bridge, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rakuten, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Japan Post Holdings, HK, Walmart, Rakuten Securities, Mizuho Securities, Rakuten Bank, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Japanese

☆ Japan's Daisaku Ikeda, longtime Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist leader, dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ikeda died on Wednesday evening from natural causes at age 95, Soka Gakkai said in a statement on its website. Soka Gakkai, founded in 1930, says it has 12 million members in 192 countries and territories worldwide. He also founded Soka Gakkai's umbrella organisation, Soka Gakkai International, in 1975, where he served as honorary president from 1979 until his death. But those dropped off in recent years leading to some speculation about his health and role in Soka Gakkai International. In 1947 he met Josei Toda, then leader of the Soka Gakkai organisation, who was to become his mentor.

Persons: Daisaku Ikeda, Ikeda, Zhou Enlai, Mikhail Gorbachev, Arnold Toynbee, Polly Toynbee, Ichi, Josei Toda, Succeeding Toda, Kaneko, Hiromasa, Takahiro, Anton Bridge, David Dolan, William Mallard aand Kim Coghill Organizations: Soka Gakkai, Kyodo, Rights, Soviet, government's, Soka, Soka Gakkai International, SGI, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, British

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's vote of confidence in Japanese trading houses is helping Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) overcome long-held investor wariness about its complex global business that covers everything from sausages to natural gas, a top executive said. "Until fairly recently, being an industrial conglomerate had negative connotations," Kobayashi said in an interview. Appointed as the trading house's first chief stakeholder engagement officer in April, Kobayashi is now focused on wooing investors who focus on growth, not just value. Berkshire first announced roughly 5% stakes in August 2020, with Buffett saying the trading houses "have many joint ventures throughout the world and are likely to have more". read moreStill, Mitsubishi is trading at a price-to-book ratio of just a little over 1, or at almost no premium to the value of its assets.

Persons: Warren Buffett's, wariness, Berkshire Hathaway, Kenji Kobayashi, Kobayashi, Itochu, outperforming, Buffett, Benjamin Graham, that's, Anton Bridge, Miho Uranaka, David Dolan, Miral Organizations: Mitsubishi Corp, Berkshire, Reuters, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei, Columbia University, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Berkshire, Japan

☆ Japan fund INCJ sells $1.8 bln of Renesas shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Renesas Electronics Corp's logo is pictured at the company's conference in Tokyo, Japan, April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Japanese state-backed fund INCJ said it has sold all but a token portion of its stake in semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics (6723.T), offloading 279 billion yen ($1.84 billion) worth of shares. INCJ had previously held 6.65% of Renesas' shares, it said in a statement on Thursday. The sale price of 2,143 yen ($14.17) per share represented a discount of 8.01% on Renesas' closing share price of 2,329.5 yen on Thursday, the fund said in a separate statement on Friday. Renesas' shares had dropped 4.5% to 2,224 yen by mid-morning on Friday.

Persons: Toru Hanai, INCJ, Renesas, Anton Bridge, Christopher Cushing, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Renesas Electronics, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ SoftBank books $5.2 bln quarterly loss as investments and weak yen bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The results underscore the volatility and risk inherent in founder Masayoshi Son's strategy of betting big on often risky start-ups. The Japanese conglomerate said it was squeezed by weakness in the yen that drove up costs on its dollar-denominated debt. SoftBank reported a 789 billion yen ($5.2 billion) net loss for the three months to end-September, compared with a 3.01 trillion yen profit a year earlier when it sold down a large portion of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (9988.HK). Its Vision Fund investment unit, meanwhile, booked an investment profit of 21.4 billion yen in the latest quarter, after posting a 160 billion yen profit three months earlier. SoftBank said it exchanged unsecured WeWork notes into shares and convertible bonds and reflected a 21.6 billion yen loss from the transaction in the first half.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Masayoshi, SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Miyoung Kim, David Dolan, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, SoftBank, HK, Vision Fund, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, WeWork

☆ SoftBank makes another bet on WeWork, hoping landlords will too
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WeWork seeks bankruptcy protectionLIMITED EXPOSUREWeWork's dramatic fall followed lavish predictions about its prospects from SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, despite immense losses as it grew. Still, it had a credit support deal with the company worth $1.1 billion as of end-June. MST Financial analyst David Gibson said the credit support was significant, but it was not clear how much of it had been withdrawn. SoftBank declined to comment on the credit support. SoftBank owns around 71% of WeWork, which it privately valued at $47 billion at its peak but is now valued at just $44 million.

Persons: SoftBank, Adam Neumann, Neumann, WeWork, Masayoshi Son, Son, David Gibson, Anton Bridge, David Dolan, Miyoung Kim, Mark Potter Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ SoftBank Corp raises $800 mln through Japan's first listing of bond-type shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp's (9434.T) bond-type shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday in the first such listing in Japan, raising a total of 120 billion yen ($799 million) on strong retail and institutional investor demand. As of 0359 GMT, the shares were trading at 4,035 yen, above the offering price of 4,000 yen. The offering was primarily aimed at retail investors and demand appears to have been strong among both retail and institutional investors. While SoftBank did not disclose total demand, when asked about retail interest, Miyakawa said he was grateful for the level of demand. As the shares are publicly listed, they can be purchased through the tax-efficient Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA), unlike corporate bonds.

Persons: Corp's, Junichi Miyakawa, SoftBank, Miyakawa, Anton Bridge, Francis Tang, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Savings, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan

☆ CIMB, J Trust among suitors for Indonesia's Bank Commonwealth -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | Thomson Reuters | Yantoultra Ngui Is A Southeast Asia Deals Correspondent With Reuters In Singapore | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Malaysian bank CIMB (CIMB.KL) and Japanese finance company J Trust (8508.T) are among firms vying to buy Indonesia's PT Bank Commonwealth, a deal that could value the lender at $400-$500 million, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Bank Commonwealth, which is 99% owned by Australia's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CBA.AX), focuses on retail lending as well as corporate banking services for small and medium enterprises. 2 bank, and J Trust have expressed interest and are looking at submitting binding bids, the sources said. CIMB, J Trust, CBA and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Bank Commonwealth did not respond to a Reuters request seeking comment.

Persons: Bazuki Muhammad, Morgan Stanley, Yantoultra Ngui, Anton Bridge, Kane Wu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: CIMB, REUTERS, Rights, J Trust, Indonesia's PT Bank Commonwealth, Bank Commonwealth, Australia's, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CBA, Bank International Indonesia, China's, China's Bank of, SS, Thomson Locations: Kuala Lumpur, Rights SINGAPORE, Malaysian, Indonesia, Southeast, Southeast Asia, China's Bank, China's Bank of Hangzhou, Hangzhou, Singapore, Tokyo

☆ SK Hynix denies report about approaching SoftBank on Kioxia merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Memory chips by South Korean semiconductor supplier SK Hynix are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 18 (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS), the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said on Wednesday it has not approached Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) to partner up in a possible deal with memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp.A Nikkei report earlier on Wednesday said SK Hynix is reluctant to back a merger between U.S. rival Western Digital's memory chip operations and Kioxia, in which SK Hynix holds a stake. The report went on to say that SK Hynix had sounded out SoftBank for a partnership in case the merger falls through. "SK Hynix denies Nikkei's report that the company approached SoftBank for collaboration with regard to the Kioxia-Western Digital deal," the company said in a statement, without commenting on its stance on the merger. Kioxia and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) are pursuing a merger as a global chip glut and weak demand for flash memory chips strengthens pressure for chipmakers to consolidate.

Persons: Florence Lo, Japan's, SoftBank, Kioxia, Joyce Lee, Anton, Simon Cameron, Moore, Louise Heavens Organizations: SK Hynix, REUTERS, Rights, Korea's SK Hynix Inc, Japan's SoftBank, Kioxia Holdings Corp, Nikkei, Wednesday, U.S, Western, SoftBank Group, Western Digital Corp, Thomson Locations: Rights SEOUL

☆ SoftBank CEO Son says artificial general intelligence will come within 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - SoftBank (9984.T) CEO Masayoshi Son said he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI), artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence in almost all areas, will be realised within 10 years. Speaking at the SoftBank World corporate conference, Son said he believes AGI will be ten times more intelligent than the sum total of all human intelligence. He noted the rapid progress in generative AI that he said has already exceeded human intelligence in certain areas. Arm CEO Rene Haas, speaking at the conference via video, touted the energy efficiency of Arm's designs, saying they would become increasingly sought after to power artificial intelligence. Son said he thinks he is the only person who believes AGI will come within a decade.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Son, AGI, SoftBank, Rene Haas, Haas, Anton Bridge, Tom Hogue, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ SoftBank Corp to raise $800 mln from bond-type shares in Japan first
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. SoftBank Corp, the Japanese telecommunications arm of tech investment giant SoftBank Group (9984.T), first proposed the issuance in May, but board approval only came on Monday. The shares will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Nov. 1, with pricing expected between Oct. 13 and 17. Although classed as equity in accounting terms, the shares offer a set dividend and can be redeemed by SoftBank after a period of five years. As the shares will be publicly listed, they can be purchased through the tax-efficient Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA), unlike corporate bonds.

Persons: Issei Kato, SoftBank, Urvi, Anton Bridge, Mariko Katsumura, Kim Coghill, Mark Potter Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Bankers, Savings, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Japan's, Bengaluru, Anton

☆ SoftBank Corp to raise $800 mln via bond-type class shares - filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp (9434.T) plans to raise 120 billion yen ($808.79 million) via Japan's first public offering of bond-type class shares, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The Japanese telecommunications arm of tech investment giant SoftBank Group (9984.T) first announced the issuance in May, saying the shares would be listed before the close of the 2023 financial year, which ends on March 31, 2024. The shares will not have voting rights nor can they be converted into common shares, so the issuance would not affect current shareholders, SoftBank said in a statement in May. The proceeds will be used for growth investments in telecommunications, IT technologies and "next-generation social infrastructure", it said.

Persons: Issei Kato, SoftBank, Urvi, Anton Bridge, Mariko Katsumura, Rashmi Aich, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kim Coghill Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Bengaluru, Anton

☆ SoftBank Corp to raise over $800 mln via bond-type class shares - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp (9434.T) will likely decide as early as Monday to raise up to 120 billion yen ($808.79 million) via Japan's first public offering of bond-type class shares, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Japanese telecommunications arm of tech investment giant SoftBank Group (9984.T) first announced the issuance in May, saying the shares would be listed before the close of the 2023 financial year, which ends March 31, 2024. The shares will not have voting rights nor can they be converted into common shares, so the issuance would not affect current shareholders, SoftBank said in a statement in May. The proceeds will be used for growth investments in telecommunications, IT technologies and "next-generation social infrastructure", it said.

Persons: Issei Kato, SoftBank, Urvi, Rashmi Aich Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Bengaluru, Anton

☆ S&P lifts SoftBank's credit outlook to positive on Arm IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings revised its credit outlook for Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group (9984.T) to positive from stable after the initial public offering (IPO) of British chip designer, Arm Holdings , its largest asset, last week. Analysts have said that improving SoftBank's credit rating was likely a central motivation for listing Arm. SoftBank shares failed to climb on the improved credit outlook, instead falling 2% in morning trade, their third day of declines. While Arm had a stellar first day of trade on Sept. 15 with shares soaring 25%, it last traded just above its IPO price of $51.

Persons: Issei Kato, Masayoshi, SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, Rights, Arm Holdings, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Analysis: Arm's stellar listing sets the stage for more SoftBank acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. The tech investment behemoth raised nearly $5 billion from Arm's offering while retaining 90.6% of the firm. Known for debt-fuelled acquisition sprees, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son flagged in June that the company was shifting back into "offence mode" as he highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence. That's after a year of "defence mode" when tech valuations crashed amid higher interest rates and global banking jitters. Few companies in SoftBank's investment portfolio have demonstrated commercial utility in AI, analysts said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, behemoth, Masayoshi, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, SemiAnalysis, Kyle Stanford, There's, Amir Anvarzadeh, PitchBook's Stanford, Anton Bridge, Miyoung Kim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Arm Holdings, SoftBank, HK, Vision, Nvidia, Asymmetric Advisors, Thomson Locations: British

☆ Arm's stellar listing sets the stage for more SoftBank acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ SoftBank's Arm by the numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Arm CEO Rene Haas rings the opening bell, as Softbank's Arm, chip design firm, holds an initial public offering (IPO) at Nasdaq Market site in New York, U.S., September 14, 2023. Arm says it has a 10% share in cloud computing chips, 41% in automotive chips, 25.5% in networking and 64.5% in Internet of Things. That makes Arm China, not better-known names like Apple (AAPL.O) or Qualcomm (QCOM.O), Arm's largest customer. Arm China, in which Arm itself is in effect only a minority shareholder, underwent a nearly two-year boardroom battle between its local chief and shareholders that ended last year. In its latest earnings for the June quarter, SoftBank valued Arm at $45 billion, but two months later, it bought back a 25% stake in Arm that had been owned by SoftBank's investment vehicle, the Vision Fund, at a $64 billion valuation.

Persons: Rene Haas, Brendan McDermid, Group's, Arm, SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Miyoung Kim, Kim Coghill Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Arm Holdings, Apple, Qualcomm, SoftBank, Nvidia, Devices, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Vision, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, United States, China, CHINA, Tokyo

☆ Arm IPO to put SoftBank's AI hard sell to the test
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. The billionaire also said he has spent months creating hundreds of inventions with AI-powered ChatGPT that he believes can be realised through Arm. Analysts also caution that Arm does not sit at the centre of the AI boom but is more AI-adjacent. Nvidia has developed a "superchip" for use in data centres - the GH200, which contains CPUs based on Arm architecture. Many SoftBank portfolio companies will embrace and apply generative AI but that does not make them AI companies," said Victor Galliano of Galliano's Latin Notes, who publishes on Smartkarma.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Masayoshi Son, Son, SoftBank, Kirk Boodry, it's, Boodry, Rolf Bulk, Victor Galliano, Anton Bridge, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, SoftBank, Nasdaq, SoftBank Group, Vision Fund, Astris Advisory, Fund, Nvidia, New, Research, Qualcomm, Apple, Google, Thomson Locations: Astris Advisory Japan, Saudi

☆ Rakuten shares jump as mobile losses narrow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Miho UranakaTOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Rakuten Group (4755.T) shares surged on Monday morning after the e-commerce giant reported narrowing losses at its cash bleeding mobile unit last week alongside assurances that it can cover its debt burden for the next financial year. Rakuten has taken to publicly listing its more successful units to generate cash, listing its internet banking business - Rakuten Bank (5838.T) - in April and applying to list its securities business in July. Last week, Rakuten also announced plans to consolidate its payments and points businesses and fold them into Rakuten Card, its credit card and loans unit. Rakuten also committed to taking on no additional gross debt, instead using equity-related financing to reduce its debt burden. The group has a total of 1.9 trillion yen ($13.11 billion) in debt, with 406 billion yen due in 2024 and a further 430 billion yen in 2025, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Jefferies, Rakuten, Anton Bridge, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rakuten, Rakuten Bank, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Miho Uranaka TOKYO

☆ Rakuten to combine credit card and mobile payments business -NHK
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The logo of Rakuten is pictured at the headquarters of Rakuten in Tokyo, Japan, May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Sam NusseyTOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Rakuten Group (4755.T) will combine its credit card and mobile payment businesses and is considering listing its card business, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. This would be the e-commerce group's latest attempt to shore up its finances after racking up enormous losses since 2020 on its beleaguered attempt to establish Japan's fourth major mobile network carrier. Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sam Nussey TOKYO, Anton Bridge, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, NHK, Thomson Locations: Rakuten, Tokyo, Japan

☆ Japan's struggling Rakuten to combine credit card and mobile payments business
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Sam NusseyTOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Rakuten Group (4755.T) will fold its payments and points businesses into its credit card unit, it said on Thursday, a move that could set the struggling e-commerce company up to eventually list the card business. It has turned to listing some of its units - including its popular internet banking business, Rakuten Bank (5838.T) - to generate cash. The company said on Thursday it plans to consolidate its payments and points businesses and fold them into Rakuten Card, its credit card and loans unit. Rakuten Card will become the "driving force" behind its integrated payments business and may form strategic partnerships with other companies as well as "raising its own capital as necessary", Rakuten said in a statement. Users accumulate points by using Rakuten credit cards, shopping and insurance services.

Persons: Sam Nussey TOKYO, Rakuten, Tareq Amin, Anton Bridge, Jamie Freed, David Dolan, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rakuten Bank, Rakuten, Public, NHK, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: Rakuten, Tokyo, Japan

TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) reported a surprise loss but saw its Vision Fund unit return to the black for the first time in six quarters, helped by an increased valuation for Arm, the chip designer slated for an initial public offering later this year. The Vision Fund unit booked an investment gain of about 160 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the April-June. Without the fillip from Arm, the picture was less rosy with the company's Vision Funds reporting a combined loss of 13 billion yen. Overall, SoftBank reported a third consecutive quarterly loss, hit by declines in valuations for major investments such Alibaba Group (9988.HK), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), and T-Mobile U.S. (TMUS.O). Its net loss came to 477.6 billion yen ($3.3 billion), smaller than its loss of 3.16 trillion yen for the same period a year earlier but a stark contrast to market expectations for a 75 billion yen net profit.

Persons: SoftBank, Anton Bridge, Sam Nussey, Miyoung Kim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Vision Fund, HK, Deutsche Telekom, Mobile U.S, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Apple and Samsung to invest in SoftBank's Arm at IPO -Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoTOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) will invest in SoftBank Group (9984.T)-owned chip designer Arm at its initial public offering (IPO), expected in September, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday. Reuters reported in June that Arm was in talks with some ten companies - including Apple, Samsung and Intel (INTC.O) - with the aim of bringing on one or more anchor investors in the offering. Last month, Reuters and other media reported that Arm was in talks to bring in U.S. chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O) as an anchor investor for the New York listing. Apple, Samsung, Nvidia and Intel all plan to invest in Arm as soon as it is listed on the market, the Nikkei said. Apple, Nvidia and Intel did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, SoftBank, Masayoshi, Anton Bridge, Elaine Lies, Joyce Lee, Akash Sriram, Louise Heavens, David Dolan, Miyoung Kim, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank, Japan's Nikkei, Reuters, Apple, Samsung, Intel, Nvidia, New, Nikkei, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Vision Fund, Thomson Locations: KS, New York, Tokyo, Seoul

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