As President-elect Donald Trump touts the United States as the best place to do business, companies around the world are figuring out how to respond to his call.
Japanese tech billionaire Masayoshi Son, a colorful figure known as much for his big failures as his big accomplishments, appeared alongside Trump at a press conference on Monday to chart a course and raise $100 billion in four years. (79 billion pounds) and promised to generate $100,000. work.
“He's a great negotiator,” the CEO said with a laugh on stage as President Trump pressed him to double down on his promises.
But many questions remain about Son's business, especially given the lack of details he provided and Trump's similar investment history during President Trump's first term.
Son has previously spoken about the opportunities he sees in artificial intelligence, and Bloomberg also reported in February He was said to be planning a $100 billion chip venture.
But his SoftBank Group had only about a third of that, or $30 billion, in cash as of the beginning of this year, and the world's His reputation was seriously damaged.
With cameras rolling at Mar-a-Lago, Son declined to provide details about how he would finance the pledge.
Trump also did not press for details, saying the pledge was largely a sign of a broader rebound in business optimism reported in surveys in recent weeks.
“This historic investment is a monumental demonstration of confidence in America's future,” the president-elect said.
President Trump has indicated that he will use his bullish pulpit to court foreign investment once he returns to the White House.
His campaign promises to cut both taxes and regulation are already giving Wall Street a boost and encouraging big companies to pursue big ambitions.
Specifically, President Trump said he would provide tax breaks for companies that manufacture products in the United States and expedite approvals for companies that invest more than $1 billion.
Investors are hoping he will greenlight acquisitions and reverse antitrust enforcement.
Still, there are concerns about Trump's campaign promises to crack down on immigration and raise tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada, which could affect the workforce. He also discussed the reduction in manufacturing and energy incentives introduced by President Joe Biden, which some investors prefer.
Political leaders of both parties often promote business investment and often take some credit when those businesses boom. President Joe Biden, for example, visited projects by companies such as semiconductor maker TSMC to highlight historic incentives the government has approved for green energy and high-tech companies.
Monday's event was reminiscent of the familiar glitz and glamor of President Trump's first term, punctuated by high-profile investment announcements. Many of those planned projects were already in the works or had uncertain prospects.
That includes plans for Taiwanese semiconductor giant Foxconn to build a technology park in Wisconsin, which President Trump boasted would be the “eighth wonder of the world.” Instead of creating more than 13,000 jobs and spending more than $10 billion, the company created fewer than 1,000 jobs and spent about $1 billion, according to CNBC.
Trump was there too said He was going to save a failing car factory in Lordstown, Ohio, with an electric car startup backed by Foxconn. Celebrated promise to create 1 million jobs It took Alibaba's Jack Ma over five years to create.
Automobile company Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy and reorganized as New Ryde Corporation earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Alibaba announced it would “support” 403,000 jobs in the U.S. in 2022, five years after Ma's promise.
Son's relationship with Trump also dates back to his first election.
Shortly after Trump took the White House, the two met to discuss the $50 billion that Son planned to invest in the U.S., as his company was evolving into a kind of technology venture capital firm. They appeared all together.
Current holdings include US telecommunications company T-Mobile and British microchip designer Arm.
