Trump and Japanese tech firm Softbank announce $100 billion investment

Trump and Japanese tech firm Softbank announce $100 billion investment

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WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump and Masayoshi Son, CEO of the Japanese technology giant SoftBank, announced on Monday that the company plans to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years.

The investment “will help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and other industries of tomorrow are built created and grown right here,” Trump said during a Monday morning press conference at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida.

The news comes as Trump promised during the 2024 presidential campaign to bolster the U.S. economy with an eye toward American manufacturing and lowering consumer prices. He vowed to levy tariffs on goods produced overseas, including in major trade partners like Mexico, Canada and China.

While Trump has said he believes the tariffs could boost products made in America, some have warned that they rish raising the prices Americans have struggled with in recent years.

In a social media post earlier this month, Trump suggested that any company that invests $1 billion or more in the U.S. “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.” 

It’s unclear whether Trump’s proposal to overhaul long-standing permitting practices at federal agencies is feasible, and how quickly it could be implemented. If the plan does take effect, SoftBank’s proposed $100 billion investment could entitle the company to a permitting fast-track.  

SoftBank is a multi-national internet and telecommunications corporation with businesses in an array of areas including e-commerce, finance and broadband.  

Son, the company’s CEO, made a similar announcement in December 2016 after meeting with Trump shortly before he began his first presidential administration. That year, Son said the company planned to invest $50 billion in new U.S. startup companies and create 50,000 new jobs. 

While that money was eventually spent, it is unclear whether those jobs were created. The company has been rebuilding its finances after the failure of high-flying office-sharing startup WeWork and after some of the tech firms it is invested in through its Vision Fund unit fell out of favor among investors.

“This is double of last time … because I say oh, ‘President Trump is a double down president’,” Son said. “This is my confidence level, because that has doubled.”

Trump during the press conference asked Son to double SoftBank’s investment to $200 billion. The CEO laughed and said he would “try to make it happen.”

SoftBank did not immediately respond for a request for more details about its plans, including what types businesses it will invest in during Trump’s second term.

Contributing: Reuters

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