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SoftBank and Sprint Soaring on Trump-backed Investment Plan

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Shares of Japanese telecom giant SoftBank (SFTBY - Free Report) gained more than 5% in morning trading Wednesday after CEO Masayoshi Son promised to invest $50 billion in the United States and create 50,000 new jobs. Shares of Sprint (S - Free Report) , which is 82%-owned by SoftBank, were also up big by midday.

Son teamed up with President-elect Donald Trump to announce the investment plan in the lobby of the Trump Tower in Manhattan. The cash will apparently come from a $100 billion investment fund that Son is setting up with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund and other investors.

“I just came to celebrate his new job. We were talking about it. Then I said I would like to celebrate his presidential job and commit, because he would do a lot of deregulation. I said this is great. The United States would become great again,” Son told reporters at the event.

Trump took to Twitter to applaud Son and take a bit of credit for the announcement:

Son has proven to be a rather enigmatic leader of SoftBank. During his company’s latest earnings call, he told investors that he wanted to be tech’s Warren Buffett and hinted at a 300-year plan for SoftBank. Son also wants to break down global language barriers and help people communicate telepathically.

And this isn’t the first time that Son has met directly with a world leader. Just last week, Son met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a $10 billion investment in the country’s technology sector.

Regardless of any potential investment, a healthier relationship with the United States could help Son complete some goals that were previously stalled by American regulators. For example, his attempt to merge the struggling Sprint with T-Mobile (TMUS - Free Report) in 2014 was blocked.

Nevertheless, some investors are taking SoftBank’s promises with a grain of salt. As BTIG analyst Walt Piecyk pointed out that Sprint’s headcount has been reduced by 9,000 and its capital investment cut 70% since SoftBank acquired the company a few years ago.

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