SoftBank Group Corp. is poised to overtake Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company, marking a milestone for the global artificial intelligence boom and a dramatic reshuffling of the country’s corporate hierarchy. Shares of the Masayoshi Son -led technology group climbed as much as 10% in Tokyo trading Monday, as AI-related shares climbed across the region. SoftBank shares have been gai...
SoftBank Group Corp. is poised to overtake Toyota Motor Corp. as Japan’s most valuable company, marking a milestone for the global artificial intelligence boom and a dramatic reshuffling of the country’s corporate hierarchy. Shares of the Masayoshi Son -led technology group climbed as much as 10% in Tokyo trading Monday, as AI-related shares climbed across the region. SoftBank shares have been gaining since news broke that two high-profile portfolio companies - OpenAI and SB Energy Corp. - were preparing for potential US listings. Toyota meanwhile dropped as much as 4.9%. The surge has propelled SoftBank shares up more than 80% this year, pushing the company’s market value above ¥46 trillion ($288 billion), higher than Toyota’s around ¥45.8 trillion. Toyota shares, by contrast, have fallen more than 10% this year. The changing of the guard underscores how rapidly investor tastes have shifted toward companies that are benefiting from the AI buildout. It also reflects how the fortunes of two Japanese corporate titans have diverged, as macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions weigh on the auto sector while AI euphoria takes hold. If the gains hold through the close, SoftBank will surpass Toyota in market value for the first time in more than two decades, a feat that it only briefly achieved back at the peak of Japan’s internet bubble in 2000.
Beijing has announced law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan, in retaliation against Japan and the Philippines’ decision to launch maritime boundary delimitation talks. According to a statement from China’s coastguard, a formation led by its vessel Daishan conducted law enforcement patrols on Monday in waters east of Taiwan “in accordance with the law”. “This is a necessary action taken ...
Beijing has announced law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan, in retaliation against Japan and the Philippines’ decision to launch maritime boundary delimitation talks. According to a statement from China’s coastguard, a formation led by its vessel Daishan conducted law enforcement patrols on Monday in waters east of Taiwan “in accordance with the law”. “This is a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines’ unilateral announcement of the launch of maritime...
格隆汇6月1日｜据CNBC引述消息称，多家美国大型航空公司正敦促特朗普政府撤回一项拟削减主要国际机场海关及移民处理程序的建议。行业组织Airlines for America，其成员包括美国航空、美联航及达美航空，本周警告白宫官员，若在Newark削减Customs and Border Protection服务，将对每日约20,000名经过该枢纽、主要为美国公民的国际旅客造成混乱。该组织并警告，...
格隆汇6月1日｜据CNBC引述消息称，多家美国大型航空公司正敦促特朗普政府撤回一项拟削减主要国际机场海关及移民处理程序的建议。行业组织Airlines for America，其成员包括美国航空、美联航及达美航空，本周警告白宫官员，若在Newark削减Customs and Border Protection服务，将对每日约20,000名经过该枢纽、主要为美国公民的国际旅客造成混乱。该组织并警告，Newark作为主要转机枢纽，若出现瓶颈，将对全国旅客造成更大影响，并可能削减航空货运量。
Hong Kong’s record-breaking insurance sales may face headwinds as mainland China visitors struggle to transfer large sums across the border to buy policies, after Beijing and the city’s regulators tightened rules, according to industry players and analysts. A spokeswoman for the Insurance Authority said the regulator was closely monitoring cross-border sales. “The Insurance Authority has been main...
Hong Kong’s record-breaking insurance sales may face headwinds as mainland China visitors struggle to transfer large sums across the border to buy policies, after Beijing and the city’s regulators tightened rules, according to industry players and analysts. A spokeswoman for the Insurance Authority said the regulator was closely monitoring cross-border sales. “The Insurance Authority has been maintaining close communication with relevant mainland authorities on various regulatory matters,...
Malaysia began enforcing age verification requirements for social media platforms on Monday, barring children under 16 from opening new accounts and requiring all existing users to confirm their identities using official government documents. The measures come into force under the Online Safety Act 2025 and are being implemented by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) thro...
Malaysia began enforcing age verification requirements for social media platforms on Monday, barring children under 16 from opening new accounts and requiring all existing users to confirm their identities using official government documents. The measures come into force under the Online Safety Act 2025 and are being implemented by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) through two complementary frameworks: the Child Protection Code, which obliges platform providers to...
A top-performing technology fund plans to own SK Hynix Inc. ’s shares, betting that tighter supply will further benefit the South Korean AI memory chipmaker after a 1,000% rally in the past year. Richard Clode , a co-manager of Janus Henderson Investors’ Global Technology Leaders Fund , said SK Hynix’s dominance in the global high-bandwidth memory chip market means it may enjoy “a bit more outsize...
A top-performing technology fund plans to own SK Hynix Inc. ’s shares, betting that tighter supply will further benefit the South Korean AI memory chipmaker after a 1,000% rally in the past year. Richard Clode , a co-manager of Janus Henderson Investors’ Global Technology Leaders Fund , said SK Hynix’s dominance in the global high-bandwidth memory chip market means it may enjoy “a bit more outsized earnings growth” next year, when multi-year supply contracts will likely be repriced at elevated levels. The $8.3 billion fund, which has beaten 96% of its peers this year, has delivered a return of 36% over the past three years. It currently holds US memory chip producers Micron Technology Inc. and Sandisk Corp. “The shortages this year, most people now think, are going to get worse next year,” Clode said. “That’s why the customers are so willing to sign these contracts on what you think are fairly draconian terms.” Read More: Memory Chip Frenzy Sends SK Hynix, Micron Into $1 Trillion Club Clode’s assessment is a strong endorsement of a stock that has been one of the front-runners of the global AI rally, at a time when the sector’s increasingly bubbly valuations are drawing closer scrutiny. Bullish investors argue that the rise of harder-to-produce, advanced memory chips made by firms including SK Hynix is changing the industry’s cyclical nature, making the supply-and-demand picture more favorable in the long run. Sitting at the chokepoint of the world’s AI infrastructure, SK Hynix and rivals Micron and Samsung Electronics Co. now each has a market capitalization above $1 trillion. In the fourth quarter of 2025, SK Hynix accounted for 57% of the global high-bandwidth memory chip market’s total revenue, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung and Micron each had a share of 22% and 21%, respectively. After suffering what Clode called “generationally bad losses” as recently as 2023, chipmakers cut capital expenditure and deferred construction of new plants — decisions t...