SoftBank’s Vision Fund is likely to report a loss of 1.8 trillion JPY

Japanese corporation SoftBank expects its 100 billion USD Vision Found to report a loss of 1.8 trillion JPY due to the deterioration in technology assets. This would direct the conglomerate to its first loss in 15 years.

A third consecutive quarter of loss for the Saudi Arabian-backed investment fund will bring SoftBank Group Corp to an annual operating loss of 1.35 trillion JPY (12.5 billion USD).

The poor performance of the fund, which SoftBank attributes to the “deteriorating market environment” against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, is a major blow to the attempts of conglomerate CEO Masayoshi Son to restore its reputation among investors.

SoftBank’s finances have been squeezed after its disastrous pledge in the face of WeWork’s shared office space company and a host of other expensive startups that are cutting workers against the backdrop of bleak prospects.

The coronavirus pandemic is undermining Masayoshi Son’s forecasts, which just two months ago signaled the recovery of WeWork, forcing the company to sell major assets to raise funds.

SoftBank did not disclose which technology assets from Vision Fund would be removed in the fourth quarter.

The Japanese conglomerate said it would record a loss of 800 billion JPY for out-of-fund investments, including WeWork and satellite operator OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month after SoftBank refused to provide it with additional funding.

SoftBank expects its sales to fall by 36% after the decommissioning of wireless operator Sprint, which merged with T-Mobile US.