Donald Trump announces US$100b investment in US projects by SoftBank
The incoming president hails massive investment by a Japanese holding company, which is set to create thousands of jobs.
Technology
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Incoming US president Donald Trump has squeezed US$100 billion out of a Japanese investment boss for American projects, who described the Republican as a “double-down” leader.
SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son joined Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate to announce the massive investment, which is double what Mr Son originally pledged after the 2016 election.
The multinational investment and telecom company focuses largely on tech and has holdings in T-Mobile, software giant Nvidia and Chinese online retailer Alibaba among others.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Trump said he and Mr Son had a “very productive meeting” to agree on a “monumental demonstration of confidence in America’s future”.
“Today I’m thrilled to announce that SoftBank will be investing 100 billion dollars in America, creating 100,000 American jobs at a minimum,” Mr Trump said.
“And he’s doing this because he feels very optimistic about our country since the election.”
The president-elect, who will take office from Joe Biden in January, said the pledge “will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and other industries of tomorrow are built, created and grown right here in the USA”.
Mr Son said Mr Trump’s victory had “tremendously increased” his confidence in the US economy.
“I am truly excited to make this happen,” he said.
His announcement is around double the amount he committed SoftBank to in December 2016, shortly before Trump began his first term as president.
“President Trump is a double-down president,” Mr Son said, adding: “I’m going to have to double down.”
SoftBank ultimately parted with around US$100 billion (AU$157 billion) through its Vision Fund, with much of the money supplied by sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The new investment is due to be rolled out during Mr Trump’s four-year term as president.
It is unclear how SoftBank plans to fund the investment promise, Reuters reports.
According to its most recent earnings report, as of September 30, SoftBank Group had about US$27 billion in cash on its balance sheet.
The company’s Vision Fund 2 also has US$3 billion left to deploy, with one potential source for the capital coming in the form of chip-maker Arm Holdings, a source told Reuters.
Mr Trump was also asked about the impact of his promised tariffs on the US economy, after economists Wells Fargo wrote to clients they had “bumped up” their inflation outlook and cut GDP growth predictions.
“The increased likelihood of substantial new tariffs on US imports would have the most consequential effect on economic growth,” they said.
At the Florida press conference on Monday, US time, Mr Trump insisted that, “properly used,” tariffs would be positive for the US economy.
“Our country right now loses to everybody,” he said. “Almost nobody do we have a surplus with.”
“Tariffs will make our country rich,” he added.
Originally published as Donald Trump announces US$100b investment in US projects by SoftBank
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