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

To: TobagoJack who wrote (5238)	6/5/2000 12:27:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

Jay Chen said, "Recommend that he (Son) bring kneepads and a head cushion of some sort." I don't suppose you mean like the "Presidential Kneepads" that Monica made famous <G>. Or if you did mean that, I can only conjecture about the head cushion. At any rate, I guess you were expressing confidence that Son knows how to play this game. BTW, I am buying a little UTSI at current levels and I may even sell a little Softbank to do so. (For the same reason that Softbank is selling a little Yahoo.). Does Softbank still own a stake in UTStarcom? I believe your comment on the pace of economic activity in China was meant to indicate that the Mainland Chinese Government is really not an impediment to such blatantly capitalistic activities. That (and the continued prosperity of Hong Kong) make me somewhat optimistic about the long run for all of these Chinese ventures.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (5238)	6/5/2000 2:08:00 AM
From: Yamakita	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

Kneepads!

To: TobagoJack who wrote (5238)	6/5/2000 2:57:00 AM
From: Anchan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

OT no. 1: ...on rice paddies and Japanese preferences: Californian growers have been growing Japanese rice varieties (such as koshihikari and sasanishiki) for a few years now, hoping to sell rice to Japan one day. But the Japanese government (Liberal Party in power for most of the last 50 years) has been relying disproportionately (via neatly structured electorates that favor low-population countryside) on the farmers to keep them in power. Hence the guaranteed high price of rice (and, to a lessening degree, beef). OT no. 2: Golf courses, until a few years ago, were BIG money spinners. Leaving high club membership fees during bubble-days aside , for a casual player here in Australia, a day at the golf course costs somewhere around $10. In Japan, it is more like $100+. OT no. 3: Have you noted the recent price of Furukawa Electric (code 5801; holds 20% of JDSU)? They were wallowing around 1,450 yen for several months, with little volatility. Now almost overnight, they are close to 1,800 yen. I think foreign and Japanese fund managers, moving money away from the US, are discovering a good one. Back to Softbank: closed in Tokyo today at 19,950.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (5238)	6/5/2000 3:14:00 AM
From: Taikun	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

Jay, It looks like Kitao and Son are at it again. I noticed this one on the Raging Bull tonight. I have to agree with Kitao, though, because I do find Son a bit too visionary sometimes. Did you see the Davos footage? Son would make a great religious or political leader, but I think Kitao has brought in some of the more practical winnings-he is more realistic. How will this change impact Softbank? When I saw Gary Rieschel sauntering down the corridors of the Squaw Valley Resort corridors at the Red Herring Conference in Tahoe last month, he muttered something about no more B2B and focussing just on telecoms and hardware. Music to my ears. I'm just back from Honolulu and Maui. The wedding was great (at least what I remember). The guests were being blasted off the lanai of the Sheraton Waikiki and on to Waikiki Beach by the 12 piece Motown band we hired. I healed myself with MaiTais and diving on Maui for the last week. As I was checking out of the Marriott I flicked on the TV for my first market coverage in over a week to notice the Naz up over 200 points! Enough to put a grin on anyone's face. Now, as the VCs play God with their portfolios and the incubators keep the weaklings alive (I prefer the free range eggs, myself) the mediocre still have a chance to survive with at least a pulse. As soon as you see Harvard MBAs jumping like lemmings into an industry: flee. That is what is happening to the VC world of the US. The Harvard MBA lemming pattern can explain the fallout of the LBO industry previously. All I can say is thank goodness for int'l diversification. Issued: Jun 5, 2000 Softbank Finance shake-up highlights rifts Ex-president denies rumors of falling-out with Son, takes over other duties YOSHINOBU SOMEYA Staff writer Softbank Finance President Yoshitaka Kitao outlines his financial strategy on May 29. A shakeup at Softbank Finance Corp., the financial arm of Softbank Corp., is raising questions about squabbles within top management at one of Japan's most innovative companies. On May 29 Softbank Finance President Yoshitaka Kitao announced he planned to step down as executive director of the parent firm on June 1 to focus on the company's financial businesses. Softbank Finance's aim is to overtake Nomura Securities Co. by having Kitao, a former Nomura official, give his undivided attention to company operations. But rumors are circulating that Kitao has fallen out with Softbank founder and President Masayoshi Son after serving as his right-hand man during the company's drive to prominence in the Internet business. "I will devote all my energies to e-finance and aim to achieve name recognition for the company comparable with that of Walt Disney and Mercedes-Benz," Kitao said before an audience of some 500 at the May 29 news conference. Kitao's confidence is backed by the strong performances of the group's online financial businesses. E-Trade Japan KK saw net profit of 1.4 billion yen in its first year in business, while many other online brokerages are still in the red. The Softbank branch of Suruga Bank, an online banking business licensed in April, is already up and running, while other nonfinancial companies going into the banking business have just announced plans, Kitao said. Softbank Finance also revealed plans to enter the real-estate field and create a secondary market for intellectual property rights. "The pricing systems used in our financial business can be applied to the intellectual property market, which should also be useful for emerging firms receiving money from investment funds," Kitao said. His enthusiasm for business expansion is as keen as Son's. Softbank Finance has appointed Hiroshi Tasaka, a professor at Tama University, as president of a think tank it will set up in June. Tasaka is a founding member of Japan Research Institute. Kitao expressed his hopes for the research unit, saying Nomura Research Institute, which Nomura Securities Co. formed in 1965, improved the corporate image of the brokerage. Kitao was in charge of Nomura's dealings with Softbank when Son recruited him in 1995. Softbank was trying to take over U.S. trade-show operator Comdex but was short of cash. Kitao offered badly needed assistance to help Softbank raise the funds through a bond issue without using a lead manager. Kitao also helped Softbank survive a minicrisis when it sold off U.S. computer magazine publisher Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. When Son announced plans in June 1999 to set up Nasdaq-Japan with the National Association of Securities Dealers of the U.S., Kitao expressed his frank view that it would not be good if the market existed just to serve Son's interests. Yet Kitao worked to secure the cooperation of the Osaka Securities Exchange to open the market this month. Softbank Finance was spun off from Softbank in April 1999. Kitao does not hide his sense of rivalry with his former company, where both he and his colleagues regarded him as a key contender for the president's job. "I will establish an all-round online financial-service firm without peer," Kitao often says. Softbank Finance, which is wholly owned by its corporate parent, plans to go public within the current business year to gain a measure of independence. Kitao hotly denies rumors of a strained relationship with Son. "Why do people assume we are on bad terms? I would quit instantly if we had a serious disagreement," said Kitao. But rumor has it that Kitao, well versed in the realities of the financial world, has irked Son by blocking the less practical of his visionary ideas. Hikari Tsushin Inc. President Yasumitsu Shigeta, who sits on Softbank's board, is also said to be a source of discord. Last year Hikari Tsushin invested in or tried to invest in companies that Softbank Finance had targeted for investment. An irate Kitao attacked Hikari Tsushin in October, accusing it of imitating Softbank's every move. Son later apologized to Shigeta for Kitao's remark. In the latest executive appointments, Son ally Kazuhiko Kasai, former vice president of Fuji Bank and former chairman of Yasuda Trust & Banking Co., was named to the Softbank board. The move fueled speculation that Kitao had fallen from Son's good graces and might leave the Softbank Group. "I asked Softbank to let me step down as executive director because it was impossible to continue in that role when I am presiding over Softbank Finance's public share offering and business expansion," said Kitao. Softbank will remain a top shareholder even after Softbank Finance goes public. But the latest executive appointments and Softbank Finance's new business strategy suggest that Kitao and Son are no longer the close team they used to be. Son says Softbank's ambition is to win customers for its online financial business through Yahoo Japan Corp., in which the company owns a controlling stake, and use financial services as a springboard to expand into all sectors of the economy, like a zaibatsu conglomerate. But because of its volatile stock price, Softbank has to rely on the financial business as an engine for growth. And this vital sector is under the control of the formidable Kitao. Even if Softbank Finance succeeds in expanding, it is uncertain whether Kitao will remain a faithful supporter of his boss' ambitions or go his own way and cause trouble for the parent company.