SoftBank shares breach 10,000 yen, hits two-decade high, on record Vision Fund profit

[TOKYO] Japan's SoftBank Group Corp shares climbed above 10,000 yen apiece on Tuesday, hitting two-decade highs, a day after the group's Vision Fund unit reported record profits as portfolio company listings accelerate.

SoftBank's shares were up 5.3 per cent at Y9,990 at 0055 GMT having earlier shot past Y10,000, the biggest intraday jump in two months.

On Monday, SoftBank reported a bounce back in the value of its portfolio after startups like selling platform Opendoor went public.

With equity raising running at record levels, major assets from the Vision Fund portfolio expected to go public include ride-hailing firms Didi and Grab.

The Japanese conglomerate is "effectively owner of the most lucrative portfolio amidst an ongoing retail IPO frenzy," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a note, referring to initial public offerings.

Frothy markets have seen the value of SoftBank's assets, or "golden eggs" as chief executive officer Masayoshi Son termed them on Monday, climb by US$21 billion to US$221 billion in the six months to end-December.

"The explosion in market liquidity over the last 9-10 months has played a huge role and we believe SoftBank success correlates closely with how US tech trades going forward," Redex Research analyst Kirk Boodry wrote in a note.

REUTERS