SoftBank – a Japanese technology giant and the world’s largest tech investor – has warned of historic losses due to the impact of Covid-19 on its $100 billion (€91.2 billion) Vision Fund.
The Japanese firm said it expects to post a full year loss of US$16.7 billion as its tech bets take a battering.
The loss will be the group’s first in 15 years. In a statement, SoftBank said the performance is due to “a decrease in the fair value of investments due to the deteriorating market environment.”
However, SoftBank’s investments outside the Vision Fund have also suffered heavy losses, totalling approximately US$7.4 billion. The holdings include WeWork and satellite operator, OneWeb.
In a statement, SoftBank said the loss will be “partially offset by the gain relating to the settlement of variable prepaid forward contract using Alibaba shares recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and the dilution gain from changes in equity interest in Alibaba recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, as well as an expected year-on-year increase in income on equity method investments related to Alibaba.”
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