Shares in SoftBank Group’s newly-listed mobile unit dropped by 14 per cent from its starting offer price in the first day of trading following its long-awaited IPO.

The company, listed as SoftBank Corp, comprises its Japan mobile business and related domestic divisions.

SoftBank raised JPY2.6 trillion ($23.1 billion) from the listing of 1.76 billion shares in the subsidiary. The market value of the shares immediately fell from an offer price of JPY1,500 to JPY1,463 on the opening of the Tokyo Stock Exchange today (19 December). By the end of trading the price had dipped further to JPY1,282 a share.

The listing is the highest valued IPO ever conducted on the exchange.

SoftBank confirmed the details of the listing in November, having first announced its plans in February following months of speculation.

In a statement released to coincide with the start of trading SoftBank said it would: “Utilise the platform cultivated in the telecommunications business domain to create and cultivate new businesses and provide benefits to society as a whole.”

SoftBank Corp is the smallest of three mobile operators in Japan, with GSMA Intelligence figures for Q3 showing it had 43.3 million connections, giving it a share of 21 per cent.

The company’s president and CEO Ken Miyauchi (pictured) was one of a number of executives to ring the bell at the start of trading.