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☆ SoftBank seen returning to profit as tech stocks gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | 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 is set to post net profit of 75 billion yen ($525 million) for April-June, showed the average of four analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. "Public valuations in tech are trending up again and I would expect private valuations to follow suit," said Bulk. Recent activity by SoftBank includes its creation of a joint venture to build automated warehouses and investment in insurance tech company Tractable. "SoftBank mandated Arm to reinvest all of its profit to enter new markets," New Street Research's Bulk said.

Persons: Issei Kato TOKYO, Masayoshi Son, Rolf Bulk, Refinitiv, Macquarie, Paul Golding, Anton Bridge, Sam Nussey, Christopher Cushing Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, Vision Fund, Alibaba, HK, New, Research, Vision, Analysts, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Japan's SoftBank Corp posts 2.1% increase in Q1 profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | 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 PhotoTOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp (9434.T), the domestic telecoms arm of SoftBank Group (9984.T), posted a 2.1% increase in first quarter operating profit on Friday. Operating profit was 246.3 billion yen ($1.73 billion) in the April to June period, marginally higher than the 241.2 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. SoftBank maintained its annual profit forecast of 780 billion yen in the year through March 2024, compared to an 838.8 billion yen average estimate from 18 analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. ($1 = 142.3900 yen)Reporting by Anton Bridge Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Issei Kato, SoftBank, Anton, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, SoftBank Corp, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

☆ Rakuten Group developing services with OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Rakuten Group (4755.T) is working with the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, to develop services using AI, CEO Hiroshi Mikitani announced on Wednesday. The companies will soon sign a basic agreement, he said. Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hiroshi Mikitani, Anton Bridge, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Thomson Locations: TOKYO

The project launched on Monday, with eyeball scans taking place in countries including Britain, Japan and India. Applicants lined up to have their irises scanned by the device, before waiting for the 25 free Worldcoin tokens the company says verified users can claim. Worldcoin's data-collection is a "potential privacy nightmare," said the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a U.S. privacy campaigner. Worldcoin tokens were trading around $2.30 on the world's largest exchange, Binance, on Tuesday. For many users, the promise of financial gains from the crypto coins was enough to make them hand over personal data.

Persons: Sam Altman, Saeki Sasaki, Worldcoin, Ali, Madeleine Stone, Sujith, Elizabeth Howcroft, Medha, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Privacy, Big Brother Watch, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, BENGALURU, Britain, Japan, India, Tokyo, U.S, London, Bengaluru, Medha Singh, Anton

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set a target in June for women to hold at least 30% of executive positions at leading companies by 2030. The latest initiative to raise female management participation was announced to boost female roles from 2.2% as of July 2022. The results reflect the lack of momentum in Japan towards enhancing the role of women in the workforce to improve diversity and boost economic growth. Respondents to a Reuters survey two years ago were also pessimistic of expanding their female executive ranks. More than half of companies polled said they have hired or plan to hire female managers externally, with 45% of companies introducing or planning to introduce measures to help juggle work and home life.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Sam Nussey, Anton, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Japan, Nikkei, Reuters, Nikkei Research, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan's

☆ SoftBank Group invests $65 million in British insurance firm - Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) has invested $65 million in British company Tractable, an insurance technology company that uses AI to assess insurance claims in photos, the Nikkei Business Daily reported on Tuesday. In June CEO Masayoshi Son said he planned to shift to "offence mode" as artificial intelligence caught the attention of global investors. The group had previously slashed the volume of new investments in 2022 as it sought to recover from heavy losses on its Vision Fund investing arm. Reporting by Anton Bridge, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Anton Bridge, Louise Heavens Organizations: SoftBank, Nikkei Business, Vision Fund, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Nvidia in talks to become anchor investor in Arm IPO - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Chip designer Arm is in talks to bring in Nvidia (NVDA.O) as an anchor investor as it presses ahead with plans for a New York listing as soon as September, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Nvidia is the latest company to hold talks with SoftBank-owned Arm to take a long-term stake in the company at its initial public offering. In June Reuters reported that Arm was talking to more than 10 companies, including existing partners such as Intel (INTC.O). Nvidia and Arm declined to comment to Reuters. Last year regulators struck down Nvidia's planned acquisition of Arm worth $66 billion on competition grounds.

Persons: Rishabh, Savio D'Souza, Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Organizations: Nvidia, Financial Times, SoftBank, Reuters, Intel, Thomson Locations: York, Bengaluru, Anton, Tokyo

☆ Dancing cyborgs: Japanese researchers develop robot arms to 'unlock creativity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Staff members control the robot arm control unit which is synced with wearable robot arms "Jizai Arms" which Masahiko Inami of the University of Tokyo wears during its demonstration at the school's lab in Tokyo, Japan, June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - What would society look like if cyborg body parts were freely available for use like roadside rental bicycles? Masahiko Inami's team at the University of Tokyo have sought to find out by creating wearable robotic arms. A promotional video for the "Jizai Arms" shows two ballet dancers performing a routine with robotic arms protruding from their backs and torsos - human and machine moving in concert. Reporting by Anton Bridge and Tom Bateman; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Masahiko Inami, Kim Kyung, Hoon TOKYO, Masahiko Inami's, Inami, Yasunari Kawabata, Anton Bridge, Tom Bateman, Chang, Ran Kim, Stephen Coates Organizations: Staff, University of Tokyo, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) CEO Masayoshi Son said on Wednesday that his tech investing conglomerate plans to shift its stance to "offence mode" amid excitement over advances in artificial intelligence. "The time has come to shift to offence mode," Son told shareholders at the group's annual general meeting. SoftBank reported a net loss of 970 billion yen ($6.85 billion) for the year ended March 31, cushioning losses at the Vision Fund unit by selling down its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK). SoftBank's liquid assets, which include cash, cash equivalents and an undrawn commitment line, rose to 5.1 trillion yen at March-end compared to 2.9 trillion yen a year earlier. SoftBank aims to list Arm on Nasdaq later this year and is seeking to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion, Reuters has reported.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Son, SoftBank, Yoshimitsu Goto, ChatGPT, Astro, Tezuka Osamu, Sam Nussey, Anton, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Sonali Paul Organizations: SoftBank, Vision Fund, Vision, HK, Astro Boy, Nasdaq, Reuters, Intel, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Alibaba

☆ McDonald's Japan hikes prices in city centres as costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) - The Japanese operator of McDonald's restaurants said on Monday it would raise prices at 184 city centre branches, equivalent to about 6% of its 3,000 stores, to help absorb higher rents and labour costs. Until now, 40 stores in some city centres and special locations such as airports and motorway service stations had been subject to "city centre pricing". McDonald's Holdings Company Japan (2702.T) said the new pricing would start on July 19. McDonald's, Japan's largest fast-food chain, has led the way with three price increases across all outlets since March 2022, including the latest one in January. McDonald's said the latest round of hikes would range from 10 to 90 yen per item or set.

Persons: McDonald's, Anton Bridge, Chang, Ran Kim, Angus MacSwan Organizations: McDonald's Holdings Company Japan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

[1/5] A student practices smiling with a mirror at a smile training course at Sokei Art School in Tokyo, Japan, May 30, 2023. Only 8% said they had stopped wearing masks altogether. Tellingly, roughly a quarter of the art school students who took the class kept their masks on during the lesson. Her trademarked "Hollywood Style Smiling Technique" method comprises "crescent eyes", "round cheeks" and shaping the edges of the mouth to bare eight pearly whites in the upper row. With a surge in inbound tourists, Japanese people need to communicate with foreigners with more than just their eyes, she added.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Hoon TOKYO, Keiko Kawano's, Himawari Yoshida, Young, Kawano, Anton Bridge, Tom Bateman, Chang, Ran Kim, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Sokei Art School, REUTERS, NHK, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is increasingly certain to call a snap election, perhaps within weeks, as domestic support surges after a G7 summit that drew a surprise visit by Ukraine's president. Although Kishida said on Sunday he was not thinking of dissolving parliament now, experts feel he may not be able to resist as favourable conditions stack up. "For Kishida, Zelenskiy's visit has a unique significance that will help boost his support rating," said Shigenobu Tamura, a political analyst and former LDP staffer. On Friday, it powered to its highest since 1990. read moreCalling an early election could mean less time for the opposition to prepare. An early election might come too soon to guarantee Kishida the LDP presidency even if the party does well, as a threat looms from rising prices, said analyst Atsuo Ito.

But, given the hopes invested in China's economic growth and liberalisation, foreign firms' demand for expert knowledge about the Chinese market, the regulatory landscape, potential business partners and opportunities will inevitably keep growing. Smaller firms saw opportunity to fill the space left by any rivals, like Capvision, that fall foul of China's authorities. China's expert network market, however, will suffer from bad publicity in the short-term, as "no one wants to be associated with police crackdown," said Max Friberg, CEO of Inex One, a Stockholm-based marketplace connecting investors with expert networks. For now though, the trade in expert information clearly has become more cautious. "It's unfortunate that the expert network business gets into the public limelight in such a way," China Insights Consultancy (CIC), the country's second largest expert network company, said in a statement to Reuters.

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