Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank intends to launch a $5bn Asia fund that will direct half its capital to India-based startups, CNBC-TV18 reported on Friday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.
Japan-headquartered SoftBank could begin holding roadshows for the as-yet unnamed fund as soon as next month according to one source, and should those go well it will aim to launch it in the first quarter of 2019.
A different source told CNBC-TV18: “The fund will have a 50% dedicated allocation to India, which means $2.5bn will be invested in India out of that fund alone.”
SoftBank has long been a fervent investor in the Indian venture capital space and pledged in 2014 to commit $10bn to the country in the next decade, but those deals have so far produced varying results.
The company’s biggest success story was the profit of up to $1.5bn it booked when it sold on the stake it received from its $2.5bn investment in e-commerce marketplace Flipkart in August 2017 to Walmart nine months later.
However, that was partially offset by the reported $900m SoftBank had sunk into Flipkart’s main rival, Snapdeal, an investment which like those made by fellow corporates eBay and Foxconn, was likely written off after Snapdeal turned down an acquisition offer from Flipkart.
Other India-based portfolio companies to have received substantial investment from SoftBank in the past year include on-demand ride provider Ola, short-term accommodation service Oyo, e-commerce platform Paytm Mall, financial comparison service ETechAces and delivery service Grofers.
The news emerged alongside a report by LiveMint stating that SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund was in talks to invest a total of up to $500m in either or both of India-based food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy.