SoftBank Corporation will raise a US$385-million bond to repay debt in its first listing since going public. The firm spent US$1.94 million on Washington, D.C. lobbying in 2019, compared with US$225,000 in 2018. (Reuters, Bloomberg)

Talking point: It’s been a difficult few months for SoftBank. On Monday, the firm’s shares fell the most they had in seven years, amid fallout from Oyo cutting 5,000 staff, Uber slashing costs in search of profitability and WeWork trying to recover from its failed IPO. Major Silicon Valley VCs, including Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois, are publicly criticizing SoftBank’s tactics, and the firm’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, drew personal backlash Wednesday when he briefly proposed free testing for COVID-19 before backtracking. The bond, which is the first one issued since SoftBank Corp. went public in 2018, is a short-term play to repay debt. The lobbying increase, which puts SoftBank in the top four per cent of spenders, is an attempt to shape the rules on everything from self-driving rules to commercial spacecraft.