President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that the big Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Corp. will invest $50 billion in the United States, creating 50,000 jobs.
"This is Masa of SoftBank from Japan — and he's agreed to invest $50 billion in the United States and 50,000 jobs," Trump said, standing next to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Trump Tower in New York. "He's one of the great men of industry, so I just want to thank you very much."
Trump also announced the deal on Twitter:
Son, 59, who founded SoftBank in 1981, told reporters that the company would invest in new firms and start-ups.
"I just came to celebrate his presidential job," Son said, "because he will do a lot of deregulation.
"I said, 'This is great.'
"We will invest $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs," he said.
Trump and Son met privately for about 45 minutes, The Wall Street Journal reports.
SoftBank, based in Tokyo, is Japan's No. 3 cellular telephone and company — and billionaire Son holds investments in several American corporations, including Sprint Corp.
He purchased his Sprint stake for $22 billion in 2013, Bloomberg News reports.
Last year, SoftBank was the leader in a $1 billion investment in Social Finance Inc., an online lending company based in San Francisco, the Journal reports.
Bloomberg reported earlier Tuesday that Son, who has made his fortune on investments in Japan and China, was meeting with Trump in New York.
The billionaire told the Journal that the U.S. investment would come from a $100 billion fund that he is organizing with a Saudi Arabian wealth fund and other partners.
In 2014, the Obama administration rejected an attempt by Son to merge Sprint and T-Mobile US Inc., the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 wireless companies.
Trump's announcement came after saying earlier Tuesday that he was canceling the "ridiculous" order for a new Air Force One — charging that "costs are out of control, more than $4 billion."
The federal government's contract for the 747 jet was to be about $3 billion.
Last Thursday, Trump and Carrier officials said last week that they were keeping the company's air-conditioning manufacturing plant — and its 1,100 jobs — in Indianapolis.
Carrier said in February that it was moving the plant to Mexico, displacing 1,400 workers.
The company's parent, United Technologies Inc., said that it would invest $16 million to upgrade the plant.
On Friday, the president-elect slammed Rexnord Corp. for its plan to move its plant, also in Indianapolis, to Mexico.
Rexnord, based in Milwaukee, makes industrial and aerospace products.