SoftBank is eyeing to invest as much as $4Bn over the next two years in India, said Rajeev Misra, Executive VP at Softbank Corp., in an interview with Economic Times. The investment would come via the Japanese conglomerate’s mega $100Bn Vision Fund.
“We should be able to pump $2-4 Bn in India, which would be through new investments. We will also make follow-on investments aside of fresh ones when our portfolio firms require capital,” said Misra, director and executive vice-president at SoftBank Group Corp and head of the SVF. He also added that the firm would be bringing over 20 companies in its present portfolio into India through joint ventures with local businesses.
The technology fund currently has investments in more than 80 companies all around the world. The fund has invested more than $10 billion in India in the past decade with it’s key investments being Flipkart and OYO. The Japanese firm benefited an approximate $1.3Bn through their bets in the Indian eCommerce giant. With a majority stake of about 45.8% in OYO, the hospitality service was valued at $1.4Bn in the Fiscal Year 2019.
Other notable investments of the firm in India have been Hike, Paytm, FirstCry, Grofers, Delhivery, Automation Anywhere, and Paytm Mall.
Non-technological companies might be something new for SoftBank. The firm didn’t seem to show interest in them until now. “Financial services is broken in India, and it can be the biggest multiplier of growth. This is a great opportunity that we would look at here,” said Misra.
Three major companies where Softbank had stakes in some capacity have had IPOs in 2019 – Uber, Guardant Health and Slack. Starting now on, the firm will help its portfolio companies develop capital structuring through debt financing.
