Reporter of the Economic Business: Tang Ruyu Editor of the Economic Business: Xiao Ruidong
Today (May 12) afternoon, SoftBank Group (hereinafter referred to as SoftBank) released its 2021 fiscal year performance report in Tokyo. Financial reports show that the net loss of about 1.7 trillion yen (approximately US$13.12 billion) for the fiscal year ended March, the largest annual loss in the company's 40-year history. Among them, Vision Fund and other sectors suffered losses of approximately US$26.2 billion, also setting a record loss, mainly due to the decline in the value of its technology portfolio. Just a year ago, Masayoshi Son submitted the best report card in history - SoftBank achieved a net profit of nearly 5 trillion yen (about 39 billion US dollars) in fiscal 2020.
Image source: Screenshot of SoftBank’s official website, below is the same as
At the performance conference two years ago, SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son once said that in the bad market environment, the losses of Vision Fund are "not bad". Compared with the optimism at that time, he seems more cautious today. At the performance conference this afternoon, the 64-year-old investment empire helmsman used the term "defensive" many times. In his opinion, it is the time for SoftBank to take defensive measures, not the radical ones that were once.
was dragged down by the sharp drop in global technology stocks , and investment loss was 26.2 billion US dollars
SoftBank's performance report shows that as of March 31, 2022, the company's investment loss in the previous fiscal year was 343.47 billion yen (about US$26.2 billion), of which SoftBank Vision Fund Phase I, SoftBank Vision Fund Phase II and other fund departments had a total investment loss of 373.8 billion yen (about US$29 billion). This loss is in sharp contrast to SoftBank's record annual profit a year ago - SoftBank achieved a net profit of nearly 5 trillion yen (about US$39 billion) in fiscal 2020.
SoftBank said that the group's losses in the previous fiscal year were mainly due to many factors that led to the decline in the share prices of most listed portfolio companies. In the first quarter of this year, many Internet companies that SoftBank heavily invested in heavy funds experienced a sharp decline in stock prices - among them, the share price of Korean e-commerce Coupang fell by more than 70% compared with its listing price; the share price of Didi Chuxing fell by more than 80% in the past six months; the share price of Alibaba , which once brought SoftBank 2,900 times return rate, has also fallen by more than 50% in the past year. In addition, Southeast Asian travel giant Grab, American food delivery company DoorDash and Indian payment group Paytm have also shown concerns in the capital market. The stock price fluctuations like
have also caused SoftBank, the investment empire, to create historic losses.
Kirk Boodry, an analyst at the US "Redex Research Company", publicly stated that SoftBank's performance fluctuations are not normal, and investors and the market are already anxious. He said that such a huge amount of losses will prompt investors to be more pessimistic about SoftBank’s future.
Masayoshi Son: We will be more cautious and take defense
SoftBank’s financial report shows that as of March 31, 2022, its investment portfolio includes 475 invested companies. Among them, Vision Fund Phase I holds 82 investment portfolios worldwide and 22 listed companies; Vision Fund Phase II holds 250 investment portfolios worldwide, including 14 listed companies. It is worth noting that compared with June 2021, the number of investment portfolios of the first phase of funds has not changed, while the second phase of funds has added 159 investment portfolios. Obviously, in the past year, Masayoshi Son's vision of "gambling" has taken more radical steps in laying out global technology.
SoftBank Vision Phase I Investment Situation
SoftBank Vision Phase II Investment Situation
Vision Phase II is also regarded as Masayoshi Son's super AI fund and is highly bound to it. In August last year, he publicly stated that he would be highly bound to the Vision Fund and was willing to take risks for the fund 100%. He emphasized that artificial intelligence is still the "main battlefield" of the company's layout, and his vision is no longer a simple investor but a "capitalist" who provides "ammunition" for the AI revolution, and his purpose is not to make money but to create the future.
is different from the past "big bets" and radicalism. At today's press conference, 64-year-old Masayoshi Son talked about the word "defensive".He said that it is time for SoftBank to take defensive measures, rather than radicalism, "In this chaotic world, the approach we should take is defense."
At the same time, he talked about SoftBank’s layout in various regions around the world, emphasizing that funds do not rely on a specific region and their investment is relatively balanced. However, judging from its investment returns, due to factors such as China's strong Internet regulation and the global epidemic, its investment returns in China have turned from profit to loss. In August last year, Masayoshi Son publicly introduced that 23% of Vision Fund invested in China.
At the press conference this afternoon, he said that SoftBank's new investment in China will be more cautious and will conduct due diligence more strictly, but being cautious does not mean "0 investments".
As of today's closing, SoftBank closed at 4491 yen, down about 47% from the same period last year.
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