The mobile unit of Japanese tech giant Softbank had a disappointing debut on the Tokyo stock market today.
Softbank Corp. aimed to raise up to 2.6 trillion yen (USD23 billion) by selling shares at 1,500 yen each in one of the world’s largest ever stock offerings.
But as Tokyo markets open today, Softbank fetched the initial price of 1,463 yen (USD13.03), down 2% from the IPO price of 1,500 yen announced earlier this month. By mid-morning the share slid further to 1,392 yen (USD12), down 7% from the IPO price.
The listing comes weeks after Softbank suffered a rare nationwide service outage. It left users unable to make mobile payments and send messages. But, Softbank had said it will not affect its earnings.
Also adding to investor worries, SoftBank Corp’s relationship with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd came under scrutiny as governments around the world moved to shut out the Chinese firm over worries that it is facilitating Chinese spying.
SoftBank Corp, which has the most exposure to Huawei among Japanese telecoms firms, plans to replace Huawei-provided 4G network equipment with other suppliers’ hardware, according to sources.
