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Alibaba plans to issue new bonds to fund its share repurchases and repay debt. Photo: Shutterstock

Alibaba to sell bonds to repay debt, fund buy-back amid low rates

The Chinese e-commerce leader is issuing bonds denominated in US-dollar and yuan to help repay debt and fund stock repurchases.

Qualcomm may lose licence to design its own chips on Arm standards

Intel rebuffs Arm after British firm asked to buy US chip maker’s product unit

Indonesia capital move ‘far from ready’, as Widodo delays, Prabowo shifts

President Joko Widodo’s decision to delay relocating Indonesia’s capital casts doubts on the project that is behind schedule, struggling to find investment, and backing from president-election Prabowo Subianto.

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Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said his plan to move his office to the country’s new capital city has been delayed, adding doubts on the US$32 billion dollar Nusantara project’s viability. Photo: Reuters

SoftBank buys struggling UK chip start-up Graphcore in AI race

SoftBank has acquired British semiconductor start-up Graphcore, as the Japanese firm seeks to strengthen its investments in chips and artificial intelligence.

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son aims to foster a new era of ‘super’ AI

Son sees a future when chips designed by SoftBank subsidiary Arm support a thriving ecosystem of robots and powerful data centres.

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Japan’s SoftBank develops AI voice filter to make angry customers sound calm

The technology dramatically reduces the intonation of the angry comments, but retains enough to allow call-centre staff to respond appropriately.

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A woman walks in front of a SoftBank store in Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. File photo: AP

Tencent-backed QuantumPharm set to become Hong Kong’s second-biggest IPO of 2024

The retail tranche of QuantumPharm’s IPO has been oversubscribed 75 times, which will allow the AI drug firm to raise HK$1.13 billion (US$145 million).

Nvidia’s rock-star CEO leads US chip bosses to Taiwan’s AI expo

Taiwan’s pre-eminence in semiconductors is at an all-time high, as the island welcomes Huang and the CEOs of AMD, Intel, Qualcomm and Arm Holdings to Computex 2024.

Softbank posts second quarter of profit as AI boom lifts Arm shares

The Tokyo-based company earned a better-than-expected net income in the March quarter, helped by investment gains.

Signage for SoftBank and the company’s Y!mobile brand seen at a store in Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

Who are the 5 richest billionaires in Japan? Net worths, ranked

Japan is known for its innovative companies and whether they’re in fashion, technology or an industry in between, the CEOs of these forward-thinking firms are among the country’s richest residents

Masayoshi Son at a 2023 conference in Tokyo; Tadashi Yanai during a 2014 interview. Photo: Reuters, SCMP Archive

AI, yen are among hotspots to watch in Asia this earnings season

Asia looks ready to turn a corner in quarterly earnings growth this results season. Here are five key themes to watch as the report cards roll in over the next few weeks.

China added 1 unicorn per week despite weak global investments: report

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, most of the top 30 investors that invested in Chinese unicorns are based within the country.

How SoftBank-backed Firework aims to help Chinese merchants sell overseas

The emergence of technology providers like Firework coincides with a growing ‘direct-to-customer’ trend for Chinese merchants involved in cross-border e-commerce.

Unlike mainland China’s influencer-driven live-streaming e-commerce segment, the direct relationship between brands and consumers remains strong in markets like the United States, according to Firework. Photo: Shutterstock

Saudi US$100 billion manufacturing fund invests in SoftBank, Dahua

The moves underscore Saudi Arabia’s commitment to transform itself from an oil-dependent economy to a powerhouse that makes money on everything from tech to metals, mining and tourism.

The booth of Zhejiang Dahua Technology at the International Security Conference and Exposition (ISC West) in Las Vegas on April 10, 2019. Photo: Xinhua.

Apple’s operating chief makes rare Taiwan visit for Foxconn gala

Jeff Williams was a guest of honour at a gala celebrating the iPhone assembler’s 50th anniversary, also attended by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Arm boss Rene Haas.

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SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son adds US$4 billion to his wealth on Arm’s 192% rally

The Japanese tycoon is currently worth US$15.1 billion, compared with US$11.3 billion at the end of last year. Son is benefiting from Arm’s rally because he owns roughly a third of SoftBank, which holds 90 per cent of the UK chip designer.

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Japan’s SoftBank concludes run as Alibaba’s biggest shareholder

SoftBank expects to book US$8.5 billion, about 425 times the value of its initial Alibaba investment, for its 2024 financial year after divesting more than 500 million shares in the e-commerce giant.

SoftBank Group Corp’s Masayoshi Son, who invested US$20 million in Alibaba Group Holding in 2000, speaks at a conference in Tokyo, Japan, on July 20, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Exclusive | Jack Ma, Joe Tsai replace SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholders

The combined stakes of the two co-founders eclipsed SoftBank Group, which has reduced its shares in Alibaba through a series of forward contracts.

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ChatGPT CEO wants to raise billions of dollars to build AI chip plants

Sam Altman is concerned that as AI becomes more pervasive, there will not be enough chips for widespread deployment, sources say.

Arm laying off over 70 engineers in China amid cutbacks in chip industry

The British firm will offer new China-related roles to about 15 staff members as it cuts back amid China’s declining contribution to its global sales.

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The logo of British semiconductor company Arm seen on a smartphone screen in front of a business webpage. Photo: Shutterstock

Nearly all OpenAI staff threaten to go to Microsoft unless board quits

More than 700 of OpenAI's roughly 770 employees signed a letter, calling for all board members to resign and for fired CEO Sam Altman to be reinstated.

Nearly all OpenAI employees have signed a letter calling for every member of the company's board to resign. Photo: Reuters

Ousted OpenAI CEO sought billions in Middle East for chip venture

Code-named Tigris, the project aimed to create an AI-focused chip company that could produce semiconductors rivalling those from Nvidia, sources say.

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Arm forecasts third quarter below Wall Street on deal delay, shares dive 8%

Arm Holdings on Wednesday gave a third-quarter sales outlook below Wall Street estimates, with the firm attributing the forecast to a large deal that is likely to land later than expected.

WeWork saga cost SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son US$11.5 billion and his credibility

Once valued at US$47 billion, WeWork’s plunge into bankruptcy damaged the professional reputation of SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son far beyond the US$11.5 billion he lost in the co-working office space start-up.

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SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son attends a news conference in Tokyo in November 2018, in front of a screen showing the company's portfolio of start-ups. Photo: Reuters

WeWork, once most valuable US start-up, goes bankrupt

The company, which struggled to survive the Covid-19 pandemic and a derailed initial public offering, reported estimated assets and liabilities ranging from US$10 billion to US$50 billion.

A WeWork office in San Mateo, California. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as early as next week: source

WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as early as next week, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as the SoftBank Group-backed company struggles with a massive debt pile and hefty losses.

Ex-SoftBank executive sets up UAE stablecoin pegged to dirham

Akshay Naheta, who pitched SoftBank on selling chip firm Arm to Nvidia, set up his stablecoin firm DTR in the emirate’s financial free zone in Abu Dhabi.

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Softbank
SoftBank is a Japanese telecommunications and internet company with operations spanning broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-commerce, the internet, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses.<br />
Chairman / President
Masayoshi Son
CEO / Managing Director
Masayoshi Son
CFO / Finance Director
Yoshimitsu Goto
Industry
Conglomerate
Website
softbank.jp
Headquarters address
SoftBank Group Corp.,1-9-1 Higashi-Shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-7303,Japan
Stock Code
TSE:9984
Year founded
1981
last updated:
30 September, 2024
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