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Softbank plans Latin fund
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January 11, 2000: 7:37 a.m. ET
Japanese Net investor launches $100M Latin American operation
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Softbank, the acquisitive Japanese Internet investor, announced plans Tuesday to launch a new fund focusing on opportunities in Latin America.
Softbank, best known for its investments in Yahoo (YHOO), E*trade (EGRP) and Ziff-Davis (ZD), will launch the fund at the end of January with initial capital of $100 million and will seek strategic partners to join the venture, to be known as Softbank Latin America Ventures (SLAV}.
Softbank said the region was "on the verge of an Internet explosion”, with the number of regular Net users expected to triple to 24.3 million by 2003, citing estimates from consultant IDC. The company also said e-commerce was forecast to expand from $460 million last year to $8 billion in 2003.
The company will focus SLAV on facilitating entry to the Latin American market by its own affiliates and investing in Web-based start-ups in the region, with offices in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Miami.
Softbank shares, which have crumbled since the start of the year after soaring through most of 1999, climbed 6.5 percent in Tokyo Tuesday, closing at 81,600 yen compared to a year high of 103,000. 
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Softbank
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