Shares in Japanese tech firm Softbank jumped over 6 percent in Asian trade on Wednesday, after announcing a $50 billion investment into the US economy.
The deal was made after Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son met with President-elect Donald Trump in New York, with Trump announcing the deal via Twitter on Tuesday night.
Masa (SoftBank) of Japan has agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. toward businesses and 50,000 new jobs….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
Softbank is one of the world’s biggest technology companies, with Mr Son well-known for being a shrewd investor. Previous acquisitions include Vodafone Japan, US telecoms giant Sprint and more recently, Cambridge-based UK tech firm ARM. He was also one of the earliest investors in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Mr Son could be looking to invest in the US after Softbank’s $22 billion investment in Sprint lost around $7 billion of its value since 2013 after stiff competition from competitors. Softbank had made moves to rectify this by buying T-Mobile, despite hesitation from Us regulators.
Mr Son was unclear as to the specifics of the prosed investments, but has told the Wall Street Journal they would be part of a previously announced $100 billion tech investment fund.
In a press conference at Trump Tower, Mr Son said: “We were talking about it, and then I said I’d like to celebrate his presidential job.”
Bringing more jobs to the US was a key part of Donald Trump’s election campaign, and Softbank is the second investment commitment he has obtained since his election in November. Last week, Trump announced controversial tax incentives to keep furnace manufacturer Carrier from outsourcing around 1,100 jobs to Mexico.
Softbank (TYO:9984) shares have risen 6.20 percent to 7,387.00 (1014GMT).