Sobank, Coupang Effect Projects Record-High Profit of Over 41 Trillion Won in Japan

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] SoftBank Group (SBG) is expected to record the highest profit ever for a Japanese company as the valuation gains of Coupang, listed on the US stock market, surged.

According to Yomiuri Shimbun and others on the 21st, SBG is projected to post a consolidated net profit of around 4 trillion yen (approximately 41.3836 trillion KRW) for the 2020 fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021), marking the largest profit in the history of Japanese companies.

Thanks to valuation gains worth trillions of yen from Coupang, in which SBG holds a 35% stake and which is listed on the US stock market, SBG is expected to achieve a turnaround from the huge losses recorded in the previous year.

Affiliates such as SoftBank, which operates a mobile phone business, and Yahoo, which runs an internet shopping business, also showed strong performance benefiting from COVID-19.

According to SMBC Nikko Securities, the highest net profit recorded by a Japanese company was 2.5 trillion yen (approximately 25.8762 trillion KRW) by Toyota Motor Corporation in the 2017 fiscal year (April 2017 to March 2018).

SBG’s performance will be announced on the 12th of next month.