SoftBank considering U.S. listing for PayPay payments business- sources

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12/07/2023 06:10

By Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka
       TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) - SoftBank is considering a
U.S. listing for its PayPay payments business, three sources
familiar with the matter said, in what could mark another
American listing for Masayoshi Son's sprawling tech conglomerate
along with chip designer Arm.  
    New York is seen as a more attractive destination than Tokyo
given the higher valuations tech companies generally achieve,
one of the sources said. The timing of the listing was still
unclear as money-losing PayPay needs to first demonstrate a
clear path to profitability, the source said.
    SoftBank has previously expressed an aim to list PayPay,
with one executive saying in November it was worth just under 1
trillion yen ($7.17 billion). That the conglomerate is
considering a U.S. listing has not been previously reported.
    All of the sources declined to be identified as the
information is not public.
    Representatives for PayPay and SoftBank Group's  9984.T 
domestic telecoms business, SoftBank Corp  9434.T , said they
did not comment on speculation. PayPay is owned by SoftBank
Corp, its internet business, Z Holdings  4689.T , and the
group's second Vision Fund. 
    SoftBank founder Son recently pledged to shift to "offence
mode" amid rising global interest and investment in artificial
intelligence. He been playing defence for some time, curbing
investment after the tech sell-off hit the value of portfolio
companies hard.
    PayPay, which offers QR code payment services, is used by
more than 55 million people in Japan, making it a top player in
a crowded digital payments market. 
    It has benefited from a government-backed effort to
encourage consumers to shift towards digital away from cash and
grew quickly by offering aggressive rebates. 
    SoftBank is planning an initial public offering for
Cambridge, England-based chip designer Arm in the U.S. as it
looks to raise funds following the slump in tech valuations.
($1 = 139.5500 yen)

 (Reporting by Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka; Editing by David
Dolan)
 ((sam.nussey@tr.com;))