SoftBank announces new $108-billion Vision Fund with Apple, Microsoft

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp has secured pledges from Microsoft Corp and other investors of around $108 billion for a second Vision Fund aimed at investing in technology firms.

The Japanese conglomerate itself plans to invest $38 billion in the fund, it said in a statement. Others set to join include Apple Inc and Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn) - both investors in the first fund.

Notable by their absence on the list of state and corporate backers were the sovereign wealth funds of the two countries which formed the cornerstone of its first fund: Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, as well as investment bank Goldman Sachs.