Lab...you are out of control (and I love it!)...full details on unrealized gains:
Friday April 21, 1:51 am Eastern Time
Softbank sees huge unrealised gains-CFO
TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - The long-term debt of huge Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corp was small given the huge unrealised gains on its shareholdings, chief financial officer Yoshitaka Kitao said on Friday.
He said he regarded the shares now as cheap, after falling steadily for two months. Shares in the bellwether Internet stock were bid-only at 52,300 yen in late trade, up their maximum allowable daily limit of 3,000 yen, or 6.0 percent.
The shares have shed about 70 percent of their value from the February 15 peak of 198,000 yen, although from a longer-term perspective they remain well above levels under 7,000 yen seen at the start of last year.
Asked if Softbank would consider selling some of its 51 percent stake in Yahoo Japan if it needed cash, Kitao said this was possible.
``We have over 50 percent still... having 50 percent means something but still if we reduce the contribution to 35 percent, what's the big difference?' he told Reuters. ``I didn't say we are going to sell Yahoo Japan, but if it's necessary we can sell.'
Kitao also said that Yasumitsu Shigeta, president of troubled Internet investor Hikari Tsushin, had decided to resign from Softbank's board, but did not elaborate. Hikari Tsushin is due to announce poor earnings for the half-year to February on Monday.
The first glimmer of hope for Japan's Internet shares on Tuesday, when Internet portal Yahoo Japan Corp announced a parent current profit of 2.03 billion yen ($19.39 million) for the year to end-March, five times the previous 391 million yen.
Most traders said it was too early to declare the worst was over for Softbank and other Japanse Internet stocks, which have occasionally managed modest bounces in recent weeks only to resume their downward slide.
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