TOKYO/SEOUL: SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund is poised to have a new number-one asset in its portfolio with the upcoming floatation of top South Korean e-tailer Coupang, furthering a turnaround that has seen the fund yo-yo from huge losses to record profit.
The $50 billion target valuation that Reuters reported this month would likely see the decade-old firm surpass recently listed US food deliverer DoorDash Inc. on a roster of assets that also includes stakes in TikTok parent ByteDance and ride-hailers Grab and Didi.
The Vision Fund built up its 37 percent stake in Coupang for $2.7 billion, mostly at an $8.7 billion post-money valuation, a person familiar with the matter said. The fund is not expected to sell shares in the initial public offering (IPO) that Coupang filed for in New York, the person said, declining to be identified as the information was not public.
SoftBank Group Corp. and Coupang declined to comment.
Achieving a $50 billion valuation would add to good news for the fund which is bouncing back from an annual loss in March. This month, it announced record quarterly profit, driven by the listings of DoorDash and home seller Opendoor Technologies Inc. and share price rise of ride-hailer Uber Technologies Inc.
Hit parade
The fund has written big cheques for late-stage startups to fuel rapid growth, with two-thirds of the value of its portfolio concentrated in 10 assets including Coupang.
The 10 include 25 percent of British chip designer Arm — to be sold to Nvidia Corp. pending regulatory approval — but not stakes in high-profile stumbles like office-sharing firm WeWork.
The fund’s largest assets include its 22 percent stake in DoorDash, whose share price has doubled since the firm’s December IPO, sending its market capitalization to $65 billion.
FACTBOX: Vision Fund’s investment hit parade
SoftBank initially invested in Coupang in 2015, adding it to a stable of e-commerce hits that included 25 percent of China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, before placing it under the fund.
The e-tailer has grown rapidly during stay-home policies while the COVID-19 pandemic has forced other portfolio firms like Indian hotel chain Oyo to scramble to preserve cash.
Analysts see Coupang’s $50 billion valuation as feasible given its first-mover status and as it expands beyond replacing brick-and-mortar retail with a rising number of online channels.
It is the biggest e-tailer in South Korea that directly handles inventory, with 2020 purchases at about 21.7 trillion won ($19.62 billion), showed data from WiseApp.
“The market’s assessment isn’t exaggerated,” said analyst Park Eun-kyung at Samsung Securities. “Coupang’s market leadership is a premium factor.”
SoftBank Vision Fund set for new portfolio champion with Coupang IPO
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SoftBank Vision Fund set for new portfolio champion with Coupang IPO
- Achieving a $50 billion valuation would add to good news for the fund which is bouncing back from an annual loss in March
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
