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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (4724)	4/3/2000 7:02:00 PM
From: LOGAN12	Respond to of 6021

I don't mean to be morbid, but Japan's prime minister is in a coma and the Nasdaq is crashing and burning. I suspect we are in deep dodo for a while... linda

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (4724)	4/4/2000 3:57:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6021

Tokyo closed down the limit at 81,500 yen or $776. Earlier on Monday in the US Softbank closed down $140 to $720 so the Tokyo trading limits are propping the stock price up for now. Bloomberg had this story on Monday for the preceding day of trading in Tokyo: quote.bloomberg.com Softbank Falls Limit for 2nd Day on Cash Flow Concern (Update2) By Hiroshi Suzuki Tokyo, April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Softbank Corp. shares fell their limit for a second straight day on persistent concerns about the company's cash flow following its sale on Friday of shares in an affiliate, an analyst said. Shares in Japan's largest Internet investor fell their exchange-imposed limit of 5,000 yen, or 5.5 percent, to 86,500. The shares were untraded for most of the day as investors looking to sell outnumbered those seeking to buy. Softbank on Friday said it expects to post parent net profit of 52.5 billion yen ($501 million) for the year ended March 31, up from the 12.5 billion yen it previously forecast, as it will book one-time gains from sales of shares in Softbank Technology Corp. and Trend Micro Inc. Softbank said it raised about 58.9 billion yen by selling some shares in its Softbank Technology unit in the week ended March 31, re-igniting investors' concerns about the company's financial condition. ``Investors are now concerned about possible problems in cash flow,' said Thomas Rodes, an analyst at Nikko Salomon Smith Barney Ltd. Though Softbank last year surged 14-fold on optimism it will take a leading role in Japan's emerging Internet sector, investors have reassessed the company's strategy. With today's losses, the shares have fallen 56.3 percent since reaching an intraday high of 198,000 yen on Feb. 15. Doubts Concerns first arose last month after the Tokyo-based company said it completed the sale of its entire 4.85 percent stake in Trend Micro, a maker of anti-virus software, for 66.9 billion yen. That was compounded by a report in the Nihon Keizai newspaper that said the company is considering a share offering of 300 billion yen. The company's board has since said it is undecided on the share sale. With the recent declines, Softbank is now close to its intraday low for the year at 76,500 yen, posted on March 28 and January 5. The shares are down 11.6 percent since January. ``Companies such as Softbank and Hikari Tsushin Inc. are losing the interest of investors as the attractiveness of their strategy -- placing priority on boosting their own market capitalizations -- begins to wane,' said Yasuo Imanaka, an analyst at Commerz Securities (Japan) Co. Softbank's President Masayoshi Son, may have those doubts in mind when speaking at a Softbank welcome ceremony for new employees today. He urged the hires to steer clear of conventional wisdom. ``Please keep a challenging spirit and be free from various strains of common sense that exist in the world,' said Son. Internet Slide Softbank's recent decline is joined by drops in the share prices of Hikari Tsushin Inc., a cellular phone subscription agency that has invested heavily in Internet-related ventures; Masternet Co., a Japanese computer game hardware and software retailer; and InterQ Inc., a Japanese provider of Internet access and server rental services. InterQ shares have fallen 64 percent since Feb. 24, when it reached an intraday high of 98,000. Earlier in the month, the company reported a parent net profit of 329 million yen ($3.13 million) for 1999, more than triple that in the previous year. The company in the same month said InterQ's registered stockholders as of June 30 will receive an additional share for each share held. Rodes of Nikko Salomon Smith Barney rates Softbank ``high risk,' the median of its five ratings, while he rates Hikari Tsushin and Masternet as ``speculative,' the second from the bottom of its risk ratings. ``I am considering downgrading Hikari Tsushin to `venture,' the lowest grade of the five ratings, said Rodes. InterQ shares fell their exchange-imposed limit of 5,000 yen, or 12.3 percent, to 35,500. Hikari Tsushin was untraded for a second straight day at 68,800 yen. Masternet fell 390,000 yen, or 10 percent, to 3.56 million yen after losing 16 percent in the preceding three days.