SoftBank Group plans to issue a new 60 billion yen bond to increase its investment and financing in AI.

According to reports, SoftBank Group plans to issue approximately 60 billion yen in bonds to Japanese institutional investors this month. According to lead underwriter Daiwa Securities, SoftBank plans to issue around 50 billion yen in 3-year bonds and approximately 10 billion yen in 5-year bonds during the week of July 27th. This new bond issuance highlights SoftBank's growing financing needs. SoftBank has already raised 678 billion yen through the issuance of subordinated bonds to individual investors this year, and entered the U.S. and European bond markets for financing in April. Concerns about AI investment returns in the market have intensified recently, dragging down the performance of semiconductor-related stocks, including SoftBank's subsidiary Arm. After reports that the OpenAI IPO may be delayed, SoftBank's stock price has fallen from its high in early June. SoftBank has also been considering using its stake in OpenAI as collateral for margin loans, and has reduced the planned financing size from the initial 10 billion dollars to around 6 billion dollars.