SoftBank Group, Saudi Arabia to launch new Vision Fund soon, says CEO

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp and Saudi Arabia will launch a second Vision Fund in the “near future”, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the group’s chief executive, Masayoshi Son.

The new fund’s capital could come from investors in the first fund or from institutional investors.

“Vision Fund 2 will definitely come in the near future”, Son said, ruling out its launch in the next six months.

Institutional investors were showing interest in the investment, he added.

On the other hand, SoftBank is planning to open an office in the Kingdom, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.

SoftBank and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund are also in early talks with banks about potential funding for the world's biggest solar power project, which is being built in the Kingdom.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund contributed to SoftBank's $93 billion Vision Fund, the world's largest private equity fund.

The Vision Fund is the world’s largest private equity fund, standing, as of last May, at over $93 billion. It invests in creating the world’s biggest solar power project in Saudi Arabia.