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The
stock has fallen over 37 percent year-on-year amid worries about
SoftBank's outlook, including the future of loss-making U.S.
wireless carrier Sprint Corp, in which it has a majority stake.
The move follows its buyback of around $1 billion worth of
shares in August, which Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son
had said was partly in response to renewed confidence in Sprint.
It also comes after SoftBank last week reported a
better-than-expected 7.3 percent rise in third-quarter operating
profit, as Sprint trimmed losses on subscriber gains and cost
cuts.
Naoki Yokota, analyst at SMBC Friend Research Center Ltd, said
investors will respond favorably to the buyback, which SoftBank
has said will be carried out over a year starting on Wednesday.
"SoftBank shares have become so cheap now. For the company to
say it's buying back at this time will have an 'announcement
effect'," he said, while adding that a full-fledged recovery
still depended on a turnaround at Sprint.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs and Miral Fahmy)
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