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TOKYO: Telecoms giant SoftBank will list shares in its Japanese mobile unit next month in a sale that could raise over $21 billion and be one of the biggest tech IPOs in years. Softbank's IPO will help raise funds for the company as it transforms from a telecoms giant into an investment firm. (Photo: AFP/Kazuhiro NOGI) The IPO will help raise funds for the company as it increasingly transforms into an investment firm, ploughing money into a broad range of companies and projects around the world. The IPO will take place in Tokyo on Dec 19 and will offer 1.6 billion shares in the SoftBank Corp mobile unit at 1,500 yen (US$13) each. That values the mobile unit at 7.18 trillion yen, and the IPO could be Japan's biggest-ever, local media said. The company had announced in February that it was going ahead with the IPO after media speculation about the plan. It said then that the listing would give the mobile unit "greater managerial autonomy." In its announcement Monday, SoftBank … [Read more...] about SoftBank unveils massive $21 bn IPO of Japan mobile unit

US stocks crumbled on Monday (Nov 12), with a sell-off initially sparked by fears of weakening demand for Apple's iPhone spreading to the rest of the market. Photo: ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP The losses compounded declines from the end of the prior week, when fears for global economic growth and inflationary pressures prompted investors to retreat. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 602.12 points, losing 2.32 per cent to settle at 25,387.18. The broader S&P 500 fell 54.79 points (1.97 per cent) to finish at 2,726.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank the deepest, losing 206.03 points (2.78 per cent) to close at 7,200.87. Investment bank Goldman Sachs also fell 7.5 per cent, weighing on the financial sector, and embattled engineering giant General Electric had its lowest close in nearly a decade. Earlier, the VIX, a measure of market volatility, had hit its highest level in a week. By mid-afternoon, the broad-based slide prompted President Donald Trump to point the … [Read more...] about Wall Street dives into the red, losses sparked by Apple fears

A new study has uncovered worrying trends on the ­operation of Vietnamese businesses over the past four years. According to PwC Vietnam’s assessment findings, local companies are lagging behind most regional and global peers. Flat margins and returns on capital employed, and deteriorating working capital performance in the wake of a lengthening cash-to-cash cycle were highlighted in the study. Titled “Cash for growth or growth for cash?”, the assessment features analysis of the past four years of the largest 400 companies by revenue, across 14 sectors listed on both the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). Top companies have been growing in line with economic growth, at 6.1 per cent per annum for the fiscal year between 2013-2017, thanks to a conducive monetary policy and high foreign direct investment flows. However, margin growth has been flat for the same period due to expenses outgrowing revenues. Moreover, there was a … [Read more...] about Work still to do for public companies

Vietnam is gathering spotlight as it strides into a new era revolving entirely around being better connected, faster, and smarter. Foreign banks are done seizing up Vietnam and are ready to wade deeper in, following the likes of ANZ Vietnam, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in the country this year. How do you see Vietnam’s economic development? What strikes you as the most impressive aspect of the Vietnamese economy? Farhan Faruqui and Jodi West at ANZ Vietnam’s 25th anniversary celebration Faruqui: In the past 20 years, the Vietnamese economy has been performing incredibly well with GDP growth close to seven per cent per annum. The country is liberalising trade by joining various trade deals, and is also a beneficiary of growing foreign direct investments as the world moves towards technology and manufacturing. We are fascinated by three aspects of Vietnam’s economic growth. First, more than half of the 100 million population is under 35 years old, … [Read more...] about Unbroken momentum after 25 years

Executive director of AmCham Adam Sitkoff at the workshop of transfer pricing In the morning of November 9 the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) organised a workshop on "gaining clarity on the changing world of transfer pricing" to discuss and learn about the rules and methodologies of transfer pricing, which is a hot topic right now. At the workshop, Wayne Barford, senior advisor of International Tax and Investment Center, defined the rules and methods of pricing transactions within and between enterprises under common ownership or control. Because of the potential for controlled cross-border transactions to distort taxable income, tax authorities in many countries adjust transfer prices that differ from what would have been charged by an unrelated enterprise dealing at arms' length. As a result, in Wayne's opinion, "transfer pricing is not, in itself, illegal or necessarily abusive. What is illegal or abusive is transfer mispricing, also known as transfer pricing manipulation … [Read more...] about Expert opinion: transfer pricing not necessarily illegal activity