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The chairman of the Japanese company SoftBank on Monday condemned the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but said he would continue to do business with Saudi Arabia.
The highly anticipated comments by Masayoshi Son, whose conglomerate has close ties with the Kingdom, have threatened to blur the results of the company, which has increased the net profits by eight.
SoftBank – originally a computer giant – has become increasingly an investment company that invests in a wide range of companies and projects outside of its core business.
Using the $ 100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund, Son has taken stakes in some of the technology industry's hottest companies, including Uber, Slack, WeWork and Nvidia.
Nearly half of the fund's money comes from Saudi Arabia and an additional $ 45 billion promise this year.
His son said that SoftBank was "deeply saddened" by the announcement of Khashoggi's assassination, which he condemned as "a horrible and deeply regrettable act".
However, he added, "As horrible as this event has been, we can not turn our backs on the Saudi people as we work to help them in their ongoing efforts to reform and modernize their society."
His son confirmed that he had boycotted a top Saudi investment forum last month, as well as dozens of business titans, after reports revealed that Khashoggi had been killed in the capital. Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Turkey.
He added that he had sought explanations from senior Saudi officials about the killing, stressing: "We want to see the perpetrators responsible for their actions."
Nevertheless, he added that the company took seriously its "obligation" to help the Saudi people "manage their financial resources and diversify their economy".
The company's ties with the Middle East kingdom were greatly relieved by the Khashoggi scandal and SoftBank's shares fell sharply when the news was announced.
After a long period of silence, His did not waste time to address the topic, at the beginning of a press conference, to present the results of the company.
SoftBank recorded a net profit multiplied by eight during the six months ended September, mainly due to the high returns of its investment funds.
Net profit rose from 103 billion yen to 840 billion yen ($ 7.4 billion) over the same period last year.
This increase is mainly due to gains of 649 billion yen from the SoftBank Vision Fund, compared to 194 billion yen in the previous period.
Operating profit climbed 62 percent to 1.42 trillion yen on a 4.65 billion yen business, up 5.5 percent.
SoftBank also made major investments in the autonomous vehicle sector, announcing last month a merger with automotive giant Toyota for its "new mobility services" such as meal deliveries.
Earlier this year, General Motors had announced that the Japanese company was investing $ 2.25 billion in GM's autonomous car program in exchange for a stake in the company.
Masayoshi Son boycotted the investment forum last month in Saudi Arabia, as reports said Jamal Khashoggi died. He called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
