SoftBank sees $16.5 billion full year Vision Fund loss

[April 13, 2020]    By Sam Nussey
 
 TOKYO (Reuters) - Softbank Group Corp <9984.T> said on Monday it expects its $100 billion Vision Fund to book a loss of 1.8 trillion yen ($16.5 billion) in the financial year ended March due to the deteriorating performance of its tech bets.

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The third consecutive quarter of losses by the Saudi Arabian-backed fund will push the group as a whole to an annual operating loss of 1.35 trillion yen, SoftBank said in a statement - its first loss for 15 years.

The fund's loss, attributed to "the deteriorating market environment" as markets are hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, is a major blow to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's attempts to revive his reputation among investors.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Mark Potter)

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