さあ、ソフトバンクグループ孫正義氏はどうする

ソフトバンクの動向が注目されています。ソフトバンクの携帯電話サービスが長時間大規模に止まりました。ソフトバンクが基地局などに採用しているファーウエイの施設が、政府調達の対象外となりました。そして、サウジのクラウンプリンスMbSと組んで始めたファンド事業がカショギ事件で先行き不透明になっています。あのような殺人をする国の資金など入れたくないという企業が増えるのは当然です。

2018/12/19、上場されたソフトバンクグループの通信子会社・ソフトバンクが公開価格1,500円を大幅に下回って推移しています。

終値1,282円。公開価格を218円、14.5%割り込んでいます。100株単位ですから2万円強の含み損ですね。関係者が必死に買い支えているはずですが。

FARSNEWS2018/12/12
Report: MbS' Flagship Plan Beset by Doubts After Khashoggi Death
TEHRAN (FNA)- When a business delegation met Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) recently, they were surprised to hear a candid admission about Neom, his $500bn mega plan to turn virgin Saudi shoreline into a futuristic business hub.

“No one will invest [in the project] for years,” the de facto Saudi ruler said, according to a colleague of those in the meeting, Financial Times reported.

His comments were a recognition that the crisis triggered by the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi threatens to undermine his bold plans to modernise the conservative kingdom with the backing of foreign capital and expertise.

Neom − the largest and most ambitious project announced by MbS − was always considered high risk, a start-up city founded on cutting-edge technologies from robotics to artificial intelligence. But it is now being pushed on to the backburner as the crisis caused by Khashoggi’s murder jeopardises the kingdom’s ability to attract the financing and high-tech skills needed for it and other developments.

“Neom is in doubt for sure,” one private sector consultant stated, adding that “certainly, our [government] clients are not outward facing at the moment”.

Since the journalist’s killing, advisers to Neom including the architect Norman Foster have distanced themselves from the project, underscoring the political and reputational risk attached to being associated with the crown prince.

MbS promised the businessmen he met that the oil-dependent kingdom would invest more heavily in the traditional economy to compensate − a humbling about face for a ruler who had put weaning Saudi Arabia off crude at the heart of his reforms.

“Saudi Arabia is going back to what has been tried and tested,” Steffen Hertog, a Gulf expert at the London School of Economics, said, adding that “They are going back to meat and potatoes”.

Neom and the government did not respond to requests for comment.

The economy was already struggling before Khashoggi’s killing in October sparked the kingdom’s biggest diplomatic crisis with the West since the September 2001 attacks in the US. But the resulting scrutiny of MbS has forced him to turn to hobbled local businesses as overseas appetite evaporates and he seeks to shore up domestic support.

In recent weeks, corporate leaders have been brought into private sessions with the crown prince to relay the challenges they face as they struggle with sluggish economic growth and depressed sentiment.

“The big [Saudi] families are hurting, and they are telling the crown prince how,” one banker briefed on the meetings stated.

Such conversations are testament to how the fortunes of MbS have changed.

Located on the kingdom’s North-Western coast, Neom for now consists of just a couple of palaces, where King Salman holidayed over the summer instead of his usual getaway spots in Morocco and Europe. It also includes a resort that has hosted delegations of financiers and experts flown in to brainstorm ideas next to beaches that are sandwiched between craggy mountains and shark-infested waters. But it has become more difficult for MbS to lure investors.

He unveiled the embryonic city at a glitzy investor conference last year that drew the world’s most powerful bankers and businessmen and was dubbed “Davos in the Desert”. This year’s sequel event − held three weeks after the killing of Khashoggi − was boycotted by many global financiers.

Masayoshi Son, Softbank’s founder who has relied on $45bn of Saudi funding for his Vision tech fund, told the crown prince that the Khashoggi crisis had put him in a difficult position, people briefed on the meeting revealed. The headstrong prince apologised.

A $200bn solar project with SoftBank, which was already deemed outlandish and unfeasible according to those familiar with the thinking of the energy ministry, has been downsized, two people close to the deal noted.

British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson also halted talks with Riyadh over its proposed investments into his space companies, spurring the kingdom to terminate plans for further talks on the Virgin Hyperloop One transport venture.

Several inward investment deals in manufacturing and retail have also been put on ice, say bankers and lawyers.

In the biggest pre-Khashoggi setback to bin Salman’s ambitious reform agenda, the $100bn initial public offering of state energy giant Saudi Aramco was postponed indefinitely due to legal concerns and the kingdom’s inability to achieve the valuation it wanted.

Without the IPO proceeds, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is the vehicle leading many of the crown prince’s developments including Neom, is now scrambling for cash.

An alternative plan for Aramco to buy PIF’s stake in Sabic, a petrochemicals company, for around $70bn is facing roadblocks including tough market conditions for issuing bonds and loans.

Sentiment in the private sector, battered by years of austerity, hit rock bottom in November last year, when MbS locked up bastions of commerce in his anti-corruption crackdown, scaring off foreign investors.

One prominent detainee, the former economy minister Adel Faqih, was the linchpin of the crown prince’s Vision 2030 transformation plan. His detention has slowed down the reform programme as staff were changed and plans redrafted, consultants stated.

ロイター2018/10/17
コラム：サウジ記者不明事件、大手邦銀は「漁夫の利」狙うか
Una　Galani（抄）
一方でＭＵＦＧやみずほが持つ大きな利点は、日本では企業による抗議という文化が存在しないことだ。
世界のどこかでモラル上の危機が起きて企業が行動を迫られたとしても、日本企業は欧米のように社会からの圧力は感じずに済む。憲法改正や原発など国内で賛否がはっきり分かれる問題でさえ、公然とデモを行う人々は変わり者扱いされる。
その意味で、日本企業は株主など利害関係者からの圧力に屈しにくいのは間違いない。
サウジがソフトバンクグループ(9984.T)の「ビジョン・ファンド」の大口出資者である点を踏まえれば、同フォーラムに出席予定の邦銀はむしろ、同国との良好な関係を維持する方により関心を向けるだろう。
複数の報道によると、ＭＵＦＧとみずほもビジョン・ファンドに出資している。
そして最終的に、サウジが同国に恥辱を与えた人々に敵意を持つようになれば、ＭＵＦＧとみずほは「味方」にとどまった恩恵にあずかれる。両行は既に、今年のサウジにおける手数料収入ランキングでトップ１０入りしており、過去５年ベースではトップ５に食い込んで１億２３００万ドルを稼ぎ出している。

RT2018/10/12
Khashoggi case causes media exodus from major Saudi investment conference as CNN, CNBC, FT quit

A number of media outlets, including CNN, CNBC and the Financial Times, have announced they will not be participating in a high-profile investment conference in Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

CNN, CNBC, and the FT all stated on Friday that they would not be attending the upcoming Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, which has been dubbed “Davos in the Desert” in reference to the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Some reports have claimed that Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was abducted and murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

“CNBC will no longer participate in the FII in Riyadh due to the continuing questions surrounding the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the network said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, the chief communications and marketing officer at the Financial Times, Finola McDonnell, also wrote on Twitter that the British newspaper would not be partnering with the conference while Khashoggi's disappearance remains “unexplained.”

CNN also confirmed it was pulling out, with a spokesperson saying in a statement that the media outlet “has withdrawn its participation in the Saudi Future Investment initiative Conference.”

The Economist pulled out of the conference on Thursday, one day after The New York Times did the same. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong have also confirmed their withdrawal.

But it's not just media outlets making a statement over Khashoggi's disappearance – Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi did the same on Friday, telling CNBC: “I’m very troubled by the reports to date about Jamal Khashoggi… we are following the situation closely, and unless a substantially different set of facts emerges, I won't be attending the FII conference in Riyadh.”

That came after billionaire Richard Branson suspended talks with Saudi Arabia regarding a planned $1 billion investment in his space ventures over Khashoggi's disappearance.

Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi royal family, was last seen on October 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkey has reportedly told the US that it has video and audio evidence proving the journalist, who lived in the US, was killed inside the consulate.

While several US senators led by Republicans Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham have triggered an investigation by the Trump administration into Khashoggi's whereabouts, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is still planning on attending the conference, which is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on October 23-25.

But while some are praising the outlets and individuals who are backing away from the event, others are reminding them that nothing was done in response to other actions by Saudi Arabia – including the bombing of a bus full of children.

One person said they simply didn't understand why the bus bombing, combined with the starvation associated with the crisis in Yemen, wasn't enough to make people like Richard Branson “have a conscience earlier.”

Another mentioned US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, after Trump praised a $12.5 billion deal in March, which was just part of a wider $350 billion deal struck between the two countries last year.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates has warned on Twitter that there there will be "repercussions" for the "political targeting" of Saudi Arabia.


RT2018/10/12
Virgin Galactic boss Richard Branson suspends $1bn Saudi investment over Khashoggi disappearance
Billionaire Richard Branson has suspended talks with Saudi Arabia regarding a planned $1bn investment in his space ventures after Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was linked to the disappearance of a Washington Post journalist.

Branson, co-founder of Virgin Galactic, announced last October that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was planning to invest $1 billion in his commercial space flight companies. He is now putting the brakes on the investment, as well as distancing himself from participation in two advisory boards linked to the sovereign wealth fund, Branson said in statements to several media.

bloomberg　2018年10月6日 10:56 JST 更新日時 2018年10月6日 17:03 JST
サウジ、ソフトバンクの第２ビジョン・ファンドに５兆円出資へ
サウジアラビアの政府系ファンドは、ソフトバンクグループの孫正義会長兼社長が計画する第２のビジョン・ファンドに450億ドル（約５兆1170億円）出資する。１本目への拠出と合わせると、出資額は900億ドルに倍増することになる。
　　サウジの公共投資ファンド（ＰＩＦ）は、サウジ基礎産業公社（ＳＡＢＩＣ）の持ち分売却や国営石油会社サウジアラムコの新規株式公開（ＩＰＯ）などによって向こう３−４年で1700億ドルの資金が入ると見込んでおり、その活用方法を探している。ＰＩＦの会長を務めるムハンマド皇太子がブルームバーグとのインタビューで明らかにした。

※　にこそく（市況民） @nicosokufx氏の2018/10/15のツイート
サウジ人記者殺害疑惑「ソフトバンクにも影響？」
ソフトバンク・ビジョン・ファンドでタッグを組む、
サウジのムハンマド皇太子に暗殺疑惑
ソフトバンク -5%
ファストリ -4% 決算後出尽くし続く
⇒値がさ株なので大口の売りの思惑も
2銘柄で日経平均を -140円 押し下げ️

・・・・・・

謀略で自国市民を殺すMBSの資金を預かるファンド運営者について世界はどう見るか。

・・・・・・

bloomberg　2018年11月6日 23:06 JST
ソフトバンク、サウジの太陽光発電設備の開発を計画
Matthew Martin、Dinesh Nair
ソフトバンクグループはサウジアラビアで12億ドル（約1400億円）規模の太陽光発電設備の開発を計画している。事情に詳しい複数の関係者の話で分かった。サウジ出身ジャーナリストの殺害事件を受け、同社とサウジとの関係について関心が高まっている。
計画の非公開を理由に匿名で語った関係者によると、設備はリヤドの北部に建設され、年間1.8ギガワットの発電能力を有する見込み。ソフトバンクはこの施設への関心を探るため銀行や開発事業者と予備的な協議を開始した。
　　ただ計画は初期段階にあり、ソフトバンクが設備の規模変更や計画中止を決める可能性もあるという。ソフトバンクの広報担当者にコメントを求めたが、今のところ回答はない。
　　サウジ政府に批判的だったジャマル・カショギ氏の殺害事件を受け、ソフトバンクはサウジとの関係について批判を浴びている。サウジの公共投資ファンド（ＰＩＦ）は1000億ドル規模の「ソフトバンク・ビジョン・ファンド」に450億ドルを拠出する同ファンド最大の投資家。ソフトバンクの孫正義会長兼社長はサウジのムハンマド皇太子と個人的なつながりがある。

初出　2018-10-22 13:02:44　追記2018/11/15　12/12