• English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Tiếng Việt
  • ไทย
  • Indonesia
Subscribe
Real-time News
January 16 - U.S. auto safety regulators have granted Tesla a five-week extension to respond to an investigation into whether its vehicles violated traffic regulations when the companys Full Self-Driving system was activated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Friday that it has extended the deadline for key responses to February 23 after Tesla requested more time to manually review thousands of records to identify potentially relevant incidents.January 16th - According to CNBC, White House National Economic Council Director Hassett downplayed the federal criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, saying he expected "nothing to go wrong." In an interview, Hassett stated that the Feds investigation was simply a request for information, which would be provided quickly, after which the investigation would continue. He also expressed hope for greater transparency regarding the overspending on the Fed headquarters renovation, a focus of the Justice Departments investigation.On January 16, the National Energy Administration held a national teleconference on power safety in Beijing for 2026. The meeting emphasized the need to earnestly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its subsequent plenary sessions, as well as the important instructions and directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping on work safety. It stressed adhering to a people-centered development philosophy, balancing development and safety, focusing on building a strong energy nation, and developing and implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan for power safety. The meeting called for efforts to improve the inherent safety level of the power sector, conduct in-depth special governance actions for power safety, further strengthen the power emergency response line, accelerate the cultivation of new types of power safety productivity, and ensure the implementation of key tasks in power safety supervision, thereby guaranteeing high-quality economic development through high-level power safety. The meeting also made arrangements for power safety work at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.On January 16, He Lifeng, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended and addressed the China-Canada Trade and Investment Dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Beijing. He Lifeng pointed out that under the strategic guidance of the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China and Canada should adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, and mutual achievement, and jointly promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations. China is unswervingly expanding high-level opening-up and continuously developing new-quality productive forces, and is willing to create a new situation of cooperation with all countries in the world, including Canada. Carney stated that China is Canadas second-largest trading partner. Canada looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges with China, making good use of dialogue mechanisms in areas such as trade and economy, and deepening cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, and other fields.White House National Economic Council Director Hassett: Trump can immediately implement the 10% tariff after the Supreme Court makes an unfavorable ruling.

How will SoftBank decrease its Alibaba stake without selling shares?

Aria Thomas

Aug 11, 2022 10:56

48.png


By reducing its investment in Alibaba Group Holding from 23.7% to 14.2%, SoftBank Group Corp hopes to gain $34.1 billion.


However, the Japanese titan would not instantly sell its shares on the market. It utilizes "prepaid forward contracts," a complex derivative extensively employed by investors.


How these agreements function:

WHAT ARE FUTURE-PAYMENT CONTRACTS?

A prepaid forward contract is a type of derivative contract that enables investors to hedge equity investment risk.

HOW DOES IT WORKS?

The contract contains a floor price and a ceiling price, limiting the exposure of investors to the set price range.


Investors can either pay financial institutions in cash or physically deliver the shares to complete transactions.


"The investor is safeguarded against loss if the price of the shares falls below the floor. Alternately, if the company's growth exceeds the cap, the investor is not entitled to any of the upside." This was claimed by David Martinez, an associate at the legal firm Clifford Chance.

Exist other advantages to prepaid forward contracts?

According to Gareth Old, a partner at Clifford Chance, investors who wish to monetize holdings without selling the stocks utilize prepaid forward contracts often. Financial institutions advance the funds using the range's floor price and a discount rate.


Moreover, with prepaid forward contracts, investors only pay taxes on capital gains when the contract is finalized.

WHY HAS SOFTBANK DECIDED TO PREPAY THE CONTRACTS BY DELIVERING ALIBABA'S SHARES?

Due to the challenging market conditions, SoftBank has decided to transfer 242 million Alibaba shares to financial institutions instead of selling them directly.


SoftBank also indicated that the physical settlement will alleviate concerns over future cash outflows, reduce contract-related fees, and bolster its defenses against the market decline.


The Japanese company anticipates earning $34 billion in unrealized profits and settlement proceeds.


Bo Pei, senior equity research analyst at U.S. Tiger Securities, stated, "It is evident that they want cash." "The IT industry as a whole has decreased by 30% to 40%. SoftBank has always made substantial investments in these industries, but they now demand finance."