Ken Miyauchi, president and chief executive officer of SoftBank speaks during the SoftBank World 2019 event in Tokyo. The telecom giant is about to free up billions of dollars in debt following the T.Mobile-Sprint tie-up allowing it to push ahead with its Vision Fund ambitions. Bloomberg
Ken Miyauchi, president and chief executive officer of SoftBank speaks during the SoftBank World 2019 event in Tokyo. The telecom giant is about to free up billions of dollars in debt following the T.Mobile-Sprint tie-up allowing it to push ahead with its Vision Fund ambitions. Bloomberg
Ken Miyauchi, president and chief executive officer of SoftBank speaks during the SoftBank World 2019 event in Tokyo. The telecom giant is about to free up billions of dollars in debt following the T.Mobile-Sprint tie-up allowing it to push ahead with its Vision Fund ambitions. Bloomberg
Ken Miyauchi, president and chief executive officer of SoftBank speaks during the SoftBank World 2019 event in Tokyo. The telecom giant is about to free up billions of dollars in debt following the T.

Saudi Arabia's PIF in talks as Apple and Goldman Sachs join SoftBank's Vision Fund II


Kelsey Warner
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is in discussions with SoftBank to invest in a sequel to its $100 billion (Dh367bn) megafund, sources close to the sovereign wealth fund told The National.

The Japanese telecoms company is preparing to pour $40bn into the new Vision Fund II after landing capital from investors like Apple, Goldman Sachs and Kazakhstan's government, the Wall Street Journal reported.

SoftBank’s board is meeting on Thursday to approve the investment, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The second fund comes as US regulators are set to approve the merger of telecom giants Sprint and T-Mobile US, a tie-up that will free SoftBank of $40bn of debt from its Sprint holding.

The Vision Fund was rolled out two years ago with a majority of the cash invested by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. PIF is the biggest single investor, with $45bn in the megafund.

Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's strategic company, pledged $15bn in May 2018 as part of a strategy to increase investments in high-growth sectors, such as technology, to reduce dependence on oil revenues.

Mubadala and PIF declined to comment on whether it would participate in the Vision Fund's sequel fund when contacted by The National.

In June, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said the Vision Fund has invested $64.2bn in 71 companies, generating a return of 62 per cent with investments in start-ups like co-working giant WeWork and India's budget hotel chain Oyo.

At the time of Mr Son's comments, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst Chris Lane outlined the investments so far in terms of geography and sector in a research note, reported by Bloomberg. The fund, he wrote, has put 46 per cent of its money in the Americas, 40 per cent in Asia and 14 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

He estimated that 44 per cent of the money has gone into transportation and logistics, including ride-hailing giants Uber and Didi Chuxing. The next biggest sectors are ‘frontier’ tech, consumer and real estate/construction.

SoftBank is the second-biggest telecommunications company in Japan with cloud services, mobile data plans and network services, on top of its massive investments in other technology and communications firms.

In addition to Goldman and Apple (which invested in the first fund), SoftBank has secured backing from Standard Chartered, the emerging-markets bank, WSJ reported. SoftBank is also reportedly in talks with Microsoft. Kazakhstan's sovereign-wealth fund said it would invest following a visit from Vision Fund executives earlier this month.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The bio

His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell

His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard

Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece

Favourite movie - The Last Emperor

Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great

Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos

 

 

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

List of alleged parties
  • May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
  • 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
  • Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 
  • Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
  • Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters 
  • Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
  • Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla

Verdict:  Three stars 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars