Japan’s SoftBank decides against investment in Indonesia’s new mega-capital
Japanese investment management giant SoftBank Group will not invest in Indonesia’s project to relocate its capital city from Jakarta to Borneo island, the company’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed on March 11.
“SoftBank is passing on the project but continues to invest in Indonesia through the Vision Fund’s portfolio companies,” a statement said, without giving the reasons for pulling out of co-creating what would become Indonesia’s new capital “Nusantara.”
In January 2020, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, said SoftBank had offered up to $40 billion for the project, a figure that, however, was not substantiated by the Japanese company.
Member of the steering committee
Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced in 2019 the plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta. Masayoshi Son was named a member of the steering committee for the project, along with Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
At that time, Son said he was interested in a “new smart city, the newest technology, clean city and a lot of artificial intelligence.”
New investment focus
Speculations are that SoftBank is forced to reallocate its investments after it was hit by a collapse in portfolio valuations in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing an asset sell-off, and more recently by a slide in listed tech stocks it is invested..
However, SoftBank remains a major investor in Indonesia with stakes in companies such as Internet conglomerate GoTo and Singapore-headquartered e-commerce and ride-hailing firm Grab, which has a large presence in the country. Its second Vision Fund recently invested in Singapore-based Funding Societies, which operates a digital lending service in Southeast Asia with its main market being Indonesia.
[caption id="attachment_38294" align="alignleft" width="300"] SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son[/caption] Japanese investment management giant SoftBank Group will not invest in Indonesia’s project to relocate its capital city from Jakarta to Borneo island, the company’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed on March 11. “SoftBank is passing on the project but continues to invest in Indonesia through the Vision Fund’s portfolio companies,” a statement said, without giving the reasons for pulling out of co-creating what would become Indonesia’s new capital “Nusantara.” In January 2020, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, said SoftBank had offered up to $40...
Japanese investment management giant SoftBank Group will not invest in Indonesia’s project to relocate its capital city from Jakarta to Borneo island, the company’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed on March 11.
“SoftBank is passing on the project but continues to invest in Indonesia through the Vision Fund’s portfolio companies,” a statement said, without giving the reasons for pulling out of co-creating what would become Indonesia’s new capital “Nusantara.”
In January 2020, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, said SoftBank had offered up to $40 billion for the project, a figure that, however, was not substantiated by the Japanese company.
Member of the steering committee
Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced in 2019 the plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta. Masayoshi Son was named a member of the steering committee for the project, along with Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
At that time, Son said he was interested in a “new smart city, the newest technology, clean city and a lot of artificial intelligence.”
New investment focus
Speculations are that SoftBank is forced to reallocate its investments after it was hit by a collapse in portfolio valuations in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing an asset sell-off, and more recently by a slide in listed tech stocks it is invested..
However, SoftBank remains a major investor in Indonesia with stakes in companies such as Internet conglomerate GoTo and Singapore-headquartered e-commerce and ride-hailing firm Grab, which has a large presence in the country. Its second Vision Fund recently invested in Singapore-based Funding Societies, which operates a digital lending service in Southeast Asia with its main market being Indonesia.
