JAPANESE investment giant Softbank crashed to a $23.1bn (£19.1bn) loss in the second quarter of the year as its flagship Vision Funds were battered by the rout in global tech stocks.

Billionaire chief Masayoshi Son admitted in a press conference yesterday he had got carried away in some of the firm's previous splashy bets, saying he was "ashamed" for being so elated by past "big profits".

"If we had been a little more selective and invested properly, it would not have hurt as much," he said. Softbank is now poised for a programme of "dramatic" cost-cutting in a bid to stem its losses, having already weathered a sharp fall to earth this year after it posted a record $26.2bn loss in the first quarter.

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