SoftBank stock soared 11.43% on Thursday, a day after the Japanese giant announced a deal to buy Swiss engineering firm ABB’s robotics division for $5.4 billion, further advancing SoftBank’s AI footprint.
The partnership, which requires global regulatory approval, means ABB will no longer consider spinning off its robotics business as a separately listed company.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI. Together with ABB Robotics, we will bring together world-class technology and talent under a shared vision of fusing artificial superintelligence and robotics to drive breakthrough advances that move humanity forward,” SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said in a statement.
Artificial superintelligence (ASI) is an AI that Son believes is 10,000 times smarter than humans.
Son is trying to position SoftBank at the center of a potential AI boom through investments and acquisitions in various technology areas. SoftBank, for example, owns chip design company Arm and has a large stake in OpenAI.
A garbage sorting robot is on display at the ABB booth on the first day of the 21st China International Industry Fair held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China.
Video Visual China Group | Getty Images
SoftBank’s British chip design firm Graphcore also plans to invest $1.3 billion in India, including a new research center, Bloomberg reported early Thursday.
The plans are expected to be announced during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India this week. The newspaper, citing sources, said he will be accompanied by a business delegation.
Japanese benchmark Nikkei Stock Average The index rose 1.77% to close at 48,580.44 after hitting a new high in early trading. The TOPIX index rose 0.68% to close at 3,257.77.
In Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank It then jumped to more than 26%. HSBC on Thursday valued the bank at more than HK$290 billion ($37 billion) and proposed taking it private.
HSBC has asked the Hang Seng Bank board to submit a privatization proposal to shareholders through a scheme of arrangement under Hong Kong’s Companies Ordinance.
Hang Seng Bank’s shares will be canceled in exchange for HK$155 per share. HSBC holds about 63% of Hang Seng Bank in a deal worth HK$106 billion.
Meanwhile, HSBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell more than 6%.
of Hang Seng Index The Hang Seng High-Tech Index fell 0.29%, down 0.66%.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index returned from a productive holiday period and rose 1.48% to close at 4,709.48. The raw materials sector led the index’s rise, Tongling non-ferrous metals Increased by 10.08%, Touhou Electric It increased by 10.01%.
This comes after China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Thursday that it would tighten export controls on rare earths and related technologies.
Foreign companies will now need permission from Beijing to export products containing more than 0.1% domestically produced rare earths, or products made using Chinese extraction, refining, magnet manufacturing or recycling technologies.
The ministry also prohibited its citizens from participating in unauthorized mining overseas.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 index rose 0.25% to close at 8,969.8.
Korean markets are closed due to holidays.
U.S. stock futures were little changed early in Asian hours. S&P500 The Nasdaq Composite Index hit a new record in the U.S. on Wednesday as investors ignored a second week of government shutdowns.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to close at 6,753.72, marking its eighth win in the past nine days. The index’s gains were led by the information technology, utilities and industrial sectors, which hit new highs at the close.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.12% to end at 23,043.38. This is the first time that the high-tech stock ratio has exceeded 23,000 points.
However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.20 points to close at 46,601.78.
—CNBC’s Anniek Bao, Lee Ying Shan, Arjun Kharpal, Alex Harring, Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
