SoftBank Reports Record Loss As Tech Shares Tank

Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group on Thursday logged a record annual net loss after a bruising year that saw its assets hit by a US tech-share rout and a regulatory crackdown in China

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th May, 2022 ) :Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group on Thursday logged a record annual net loss after a bruising year that saw its assets hit by a US tech-share rout and a regulatory crackdown in China.

SoftBank's big stakes in global tech giants and volatile new ventures have made for unpredictable earnings, and the latest tumble comes with tech shares tanking as the United States hikes interest rates to tackle inflation.

The company reported losses of 1.71 trillion Yen ($13.2 billion) in the year to March 2022 -- a vertiginous plunge from its nearly five trillion yen net profit the previous year, when huge market rallies boosted results.

Reporting an eye-watering investment loss of 3.

4 trillion yen, SoftBank said its tech-focused Vision Fund has suffered falls "due to a decline in the share prices of most listed portfolio companies".

In the past six months, the tech-rich US Nasdaq index has lost more than 28 percent of its value.

The Japanese group's losses were deepened by the many shares it holds in Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and e-commerce group Alibaba, which have been hit by a crackdown by Beijing on the country's private sector.

And the icing on the cake was the falling yen, which has recently hit 20-year lows as the gap widens between US tightening and Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy.

SoftBank attributed a net loss of 706 billion yen to the weaker yen.