SoftBank Vision Fund invests $1.7 bln in S.Korean travel firm Yanolja

SEOUL, July 15 (Reuters) – SoftBank’s (9984.T) Vision Fund has invested $1.7 billion in Yanolja, the South Korean travel and leisure firm said on Thursday, as it seeks to build on rapid pandemic-induced growth in Southeast Asia, India and Africa.

Yanolja, which provides cloud-based booking and other systems for hotels and travel companies, says demand for its systems has jumped as the spread of COVID-19 put companies under intense pressure to introduce contactless services and cut costs.

That in turn has made Yanolja a rare beast in the travel industry over the past year – a company which has seen