Business

Sony eyes finance unit listing, doubles down on entertainment

Published

1 year ago

May 18, 2023

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Sony eyes finance unit listing, doubles down on entertainment

Sony Group Corp on Thursday said it is examining a partial spin-off of its financial business just three years after taking full control, as the conglomerate doubles down on entertainment and image sensors.

Sony said it is considering a time frame of two to three years to spin off Sony Financial Group – whose operations include life insurance and banking – with an eye to listing the business and retaining a stake of slightly under 20%.

Given the capital the business requires, “it is a challenge to balance this with our investment in other growth areas such as entertainment and image sensors,” Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki told a strategy briefing.

The conglomerate is pursuing synergies between its business lines, which include video games, music and movies. It said hit drama “The Last of Us” on television network HBO drove uptake of the game franchise on which it is based and the music used.

A partial spin-off of Sony Financial, which the group said was made possible by changes in tax rules, would allow the newly listed business to retain Sony branding.

“It doesn’t change anything drastically in terms of the outlook for Sony but it does make it a more pure play entertainment company which the market generally likes,” said Mio Kato, an analyst at LightStream Research who publishes on Smartkarma.

The finance business reported a 5% fall in revenue to 1.45 trillion yen ($10.74 billion) in the year ended March. Operating profit rose 49% to 223.9 billion yen helped by a one-off gain from a real estate sale.

In the current financial year, Sony expects a 40% drop in revenue at the unit due to an accounting change, and a 20% drop in profit due to the absence of the year prior’s one-off gains.

Sony share price was up 6% in Tokyo trade, a day after the group said it would buy back up to 2.03% of its stock.

Sony has said it expects to sell 25 million PlayStation 5 consoles this financial year as supply chain snarls ease. That would be a record for any PlayStation device.

However it has also forecast a slide in first-party software sales, reflecting weakness in the games pipeline.

A sequel to Sony’s hit “Marvel’s Spider-Man” is among games due for release this year.

Rival Nintendo Co Ltd, whose Switch console has an install base of more than 125 million units, sold over 10 million copies of “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” during the first three days from launch.

It has also scored a monster hit with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”.

Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said he recently watched the movie in Tokyo and used to play “Super Mario” too.

“Loveable characters and intellectual property (IP) can live for 30, 50 or 100 years,” he said.

“That’s something we want to make investment in for sustainable growth,” Yoshida said.

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Related Topics:Business Entertainment Sony

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Chinese firm aims to expand investments in Pakistan, shows interest in mining sector

Published

24 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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Chinese firm aims to expand investments in Pakistan, shows interest in mining sector

A notable Chinese company has expressed keen interest in expanding its investment in Pakistan, in yet another sign of investor confidence boost in the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

A delegation from Chinese firm MCC Tongsin Resources led by its Chairman Wang Jaichen called on PM Shehbaz here on Friday.

The premier invited the Chinese company to invest in Pakistan’s mining sector and manufacturing of export goods.

Shehbaz assured the delegation that his government would extend all-out facilitation to the company from minerals exploration and processing to the export of goods.

The PM instructed the relevant federal ministers and officers to continue consultation with the Chinese firm, taking the Balochistan chief minister, provincial departments and stakeholders on board.

The delegates reposed trust in PM Shehbaz’s leadership, and expressed keen interest in enhancing their investment in Pakistan’s mining and minerals sectors.

The delegation briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz about the construction of a mineral park in Pakistan and their future investment plans.

The premier welcomed the Chinese firm and highlighted the priority steps by his government to promote foreign investment in Pakistan.

He said that being a time-tested friend, China supported Pakistan in every difficult hour for which the Pakistani nation was grateful to the leadership and people of China.

Federal ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Dr Musaddik Malik, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Jam Kamal Khan and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.

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Business

Govt jacks up power price by Rs1.47 per unit

Published

24 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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Govt jacks up power price by Rs1.47 per unit

The government on Friday increased the electricity tariff by Rs1.47 per unit.

According to Nepra sources, the collection from consumers will take place in August, September, and October.

The electricity companies had requested the funds as part of the third quarter adjustment for 2023-2024, seeking Rs 31.34 billion under capacity charges.

Sources said that Rs5.57 billion were requested for operation and maintenance costs, and Rs12.38 billion were requested for the transmission and distribution impact under monthly fuel cost adjustment.

Previously, Nepra had completed the hearing on the electricity companies’ request under the quarterly adjustment.

Nepra approved the Power Division’s request, allowing an increase of Rs 1.45 per unit in electricity prices.

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Business

Hong Kong allows China’s digital yuan to be used in local shops

Published

24 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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Hong Kong allows China's digital yuan to be used in local shops

Hong Kong will allow mainland China’s pilot digital currency to be used in shops in the city, the head of its de facto central bank said on Friday, marking a step forward for Beijing’s efforts to internationalise the yuan amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The programme, backed by Beijing, will allow mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents to open digital yuan wallets via a mobile app developed by China’s central bank and will permit them to make payments in retail shops and some online stores in Hong Kong and in mainland China.

Transactions using e-CNY, predominantly for domestic retail payments in China, hit 1.8 trillion yuan ($249.27 billion) as of end of June 2023, with 120 million digital wallets opened, according to the latest disclosure from China’s central bank.

Using the wallet, users can make payments at over 10 million merchants in 17 provinces and cities in the mainland.

Each wallet used in the city will be subject to a balance limit of 10,000 yuan, with single transactions and daily payments capped at 2,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan, respectively, officials from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said.

Peer-to-peer transfers will not be allowed at the moment, according to the HKMA.

“By expanding the e-CNY pilot in Hong Kong .. users may now top up their wallets anytime, anywhere without having to open a mainland bank account, thereby facilitating merchant payments in the mainland by Hong Kong residents,” HKMA Chief Eddie Yue said.

Currently, users of other digital yuan wallets such as those operated by Ant Group and Tencent can make payments in the city.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp and Bank of Communications Co have been selected as e-CNY wallet operators.

The yuan’s use in global finance remains low, though it has shown steady increases.

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