SoftBank Group's shares jumped as much as 8% on Tuesday on bets that the tech investor would be able to capitalize on its yearslong focus on artificial intelligence. The Tokyo-based company is the unnamed buyer of Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio and plans to incorporate the facility into its 500 billion Stargate data center project with OpenAI and Oracle. That's spurring optimism that SoftBank may be able to kick-start the stalled Stargate endeavor and benefit from a rush to build AI hardware in the U.S. Its stock is up for the fifth straight day and on track to close at a record. SoftBank has been gradually cashing in on some of its Vision Fund bets in recent years. SoftBank's stock also received a boost after a report emerged that the Japanese company has picked investment banks for a possible initial public offering for Japanese payments app operator PayPay.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and mobile carrier SoftBank will collaborate in the field of digital payment services, it was learned Wednesday. Under the partnership, the PayPay smartphone payment service operated by a SoftBank affiliate will be made available via the Olive general financial app, provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, the core unit of the financial group. Sumitomo Mitsui, through its Sumitomo Mitsui Card unit, will form a comprehensive partnership with SoftBank and PayPay that will be announced soon. The two sides will allow points in their respective reward programs to be exchanged. They will also collaborate on the use of data and generative artificial intelligence.

SoftBank Group Corp. is considering a plan to consolidate its Yahoo Japan internet business with the messaging service Line Corp. Z Holdings Corp., a unit of SoftBank's telecom arm formerly known as Yahoo Japan, confirmed Thursday that it's in talks with Tokyo-based Line about a possible merger, but said no final decision on a deal had been made. Line separately said it is considering such a merger along with other opportunities to increase value. Z Holdings shares surged in Tokyo, while Line's stock was poised to climb. SoftBank Corp., the domestic telecom arm of Masayoshi Son's business empire, holds a 44 percent stake in Z Holdings, while Line is controlled by South Korea's Naver Corp. SoftBank is considering setting up a new company with Naver, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. They may reach an agreement as early as this month, one of the people said.