TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp. said Thursday that it suffered a consolidated net loss of 458.7 billion yen in April-December 2023, bleeding red ink for the second year in a row.

The Japanese technology investment group has been investing in startups both in and out of Japan mainly through its SoftBank Vision Fund. As its business performance is affected by factors such as the stock value of its investment destinations, SoftBank Group has been hit by global stock market falls.

The group had abstained from making new investments and instead focused on increasing its cash reserves.

SoftBank Group’s British semiconductor design unit Arm Holdings PLC was listed on the U.S. Nasdaq stock market in September last year. With momentum growing for the technology group to bounce back, the group has carefully resumed new investments once again.

In November, however, U.S. shared office operator WeWork Inc., one of the companies SoftBank Group has invested in, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

JIJI Press