A filing by SoftBank Group Corp shows, the company’s borrowings from banks have jumped by 42% in the year ending on March 31, with the increase shouldered by foreign lenders.

Borrowing from SoftBank Group’s primary lenders shot up to $46 billion (4.98 trillion yen) in the March-end business year, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc continuing to be the main Japanese lender among its top three backers.

According to the filings, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are among SoftBank’s biggest lenders; the borrowings come at a time when the Japanese conglomerate builds its technology investing operations globally.

Incidentally the conglomerate has experienced dramatic change in fortunes over the last year, with its stock price and portfolio valuations plummeting in the early days of the coronavirus-induced COVID-19 pandemic, forcing it into selling its assets.

SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son has pledged to use the conglomerate’s cash reserves as a defense; its recently completed share buyback  program which led to a recovery in the price of its shares along with its earnings rebounding,  SoftBank has expanded the backing for its second Vision Fund to $30 billion.

($1 = 109.0800 yen)

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Tags: asset sale, backing, biggest lenders, borrowings, cash reserves, CEO, debt, defense, earnings, expand, expanded, foreign lenders, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, investing, Japanese lender, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Masayoshi Son, Mizuho Financial Group Inc, portfolio valuations, primary lenders, regulatory filing, share buyback, Softbank Group Corp, stock prices, technology, top backers, Vision Fund