What happened on the day
8:50 Greeting the lead underwriter
On an auspicious day of blue skies in Tokyo, SoftBank Corp. embarked on a new chapter with its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. SoftBank Corp. executives first went to greet the lead underwriter, Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.
In the trading room, a large screen displayed the words, “Congratulations to SoftBank Corp. for listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.” Warm applause broke out when it was announced that SoftBank Corp. executives had arrived.
9:00 Watching the opening price
9:45 Arrival at the Tokyo Stock Exchange
SoftBank Corp. employees and related persons assembled at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. President & CEO Ken Miyauchi and other executives were greeted as ceremonial guests and escorted to a special reception room on the 15th floor.
9:50 On standby at the special reception room
After being greeted by people from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, SoftBank executives waited for the ceremony to begin.
10:00 Listing ceremony
A screen above the open platform of the Tokyo Stock Exchange displayed the words, “Congratulations to SoftBank Corp. for listing on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.” Members of the press also crowded into the venue.
SoftBank Corp. executives descended from the special reception room to the open platform. Members of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, SoftBank Corp. employees and others greeted them with a loud round of applause.
10:10 President & CEO receives listing certificate
President & CEO Ken Miyauchi received a certificate for the listing and commemorative gifts.
10:15 Ringing the bell
This was followed by the ringing of the bell, a scene often seen on TV. The bell was rung a total five times. This ritual is said to come from the Japanese tradition of praying for a bumper crop.
The bell was rung once by five SoftBank Corp. executives: President & CEO Ken Miyauchi, Representative Director & COO Jun Shimba, Representative Director & COO Yasuyuki Imai, Representative Director & CTO Junichi Miyakawa and Board Director, Executive Vice President & CFO Kazuhiko Fujihara.
10:20 Group photo
The listing ceremony concluded with a group photo of all participants.
SoftBank Corp. listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange!
Listing Press Conference
SoftBank Corp.’s Past, Present and Future
Following the listing ceremony, SoftBank Corp. held a press conference in Tokyo. President & CEO Ken Miyauchi opened his presentation by thanking the Tokyo Stock Exchange for making the listing possible and apologizing for the network disruption that occurred on December 6.
Looking back on SoftBank Corp.’s past, Miyauchi described three major traits of the company. First, SoftBank Corp. has a history of being at the forefront of technological paradigm shifts, as shown by its evolution through the PC, smartphone and IoT/AI eras. Second, SoftBank Corp. has rebuilt and expanded businesses that were facing crises. Third, SoftBank Corp. has continued to grow by overcoming adversity. Miyauchi explained that all of these elements have helped build the foundation for SoftBank Corp.’s current telecommunications business.
Miyauchi then spoke about how SoftBank Corp. will pursue growth by expanding its existing telecommunications business while simultaneously creating new businesses through partnerships with SoftBank Group investees. He expressed his enthusiasm about bringing cutting-edge business models from around the world to Japan to transform various industries. He summed up this approach as the “Beyond Carrier Strategy.”
Going beyond the traditional telecommunications carrier business model with the “Beyond Carrier Strategy”
As realized examples of the strategy, Miyauchi introduced PayPay, WeWork and DiDi.
First acknowledging and apologizing for some initial hiccups when PayPay first launched services in November, Miyauchi explained that awareness and usage of PayPay’s QR code smartphone payment service greatly increased thanks to the “10 Billion Yen Giveaway” campaign.
He also showed that the shared workspace provider WeWork enjoyed growth with desks numbering 12,800 in a span of ten months since February 2018. This was the fastest growth rate among all of WeWork’s global businesses.
Miyauchi then discussed the taxi-hailing platform DiDi. He noted that over a three-month span since launching in Osaka in September 2018, per-day ridership increased 13 times and that the platform helped improve load rates.
“These are examples of how we are expanding our business in a variety of fields,” Miyauchi said. “For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, we are forecasting increased sales and profits. As a company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, we will accelerate our autonomous management, increase efficiencies at our telecommunications business and shift toward new growth areas” he said, looking ahead to the future.
(Original article posted on December. 19, 2018)
By SoftBank News Editors
