Softbank Group Corp founder Masayoshi Son has proposed setting up a US-Japan sovereign wealth fund aimed at making large investments in technology and infrastructure, the Financial Times reported, citing three unidentified people close to the situation.
Son has discussed the plan with US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, although it has not been formally proposed, the report said.
The joint fund would likely need about US$300 billion in initial capital, with significant leverage, to be effective, one person told the Financial Times.
Photo: Bloomberg
The fund would be jointly owned and run by the US Department of the Treasury and the Japanese Ministry of Finance, with each holding a significant stake, the report said.
The fund could also be opened to limited partner investors, potentially offering retail investors in Japan and the US a chance to participate.
Bessent has been looking for revenue streams for the US Treasury that do not involve raising taxes, and the fund could potentially provide a solution, a person briefed on the situation told the newspaper.
However, Bessent on Friday said US President Donald Trump paused plans to create a sovereign wealth fund as the president prioritizes paying down the national debt.
“I think the president has decided it’s on pause while we work on everything else that we’re doing now,” Bessent said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin. “He said the other day that we’ll probably spend more time paying down debt. He is laser-focused on paying down debt.”
Trump in February ordered a plan to create one of the biggest such funds in the world, suggesting it could be backed by monetizing government assets and used for strategic investments including critical minerals projects or stakes in companies such as TikTok.
Bessent at the time said that the fund could be up and running in 12 months.
However, the ambition has slid down the list of priorities after running into legal, financial and political realities. Instead, the administration is pivoting to a potentially simpler and limited investment vehicle using existing agencies that would not need congressional approval.
Bessent and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who Trump tasked with coming up with the proposal within 90 days, submitted their ideas earlier this month, but White House officials were not satisfied and a final plan was not presented to Trump for approval, people familiar with the situation said.
STRONG INTEREST: Analysts have pointed to optimism in TSMC’s growth prospects in the artificial intelligence era as the cause of the rising number of shareholders The number of people holding shares of chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) hit a new high last week despite a decline in its stock price, the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp (TDCC, 台灣集保) said. The number of TSMC shareholders rose to 2.46 million as of Friday, up 75,536 from a week earlier, TDCC data showed. The stock price fell 1.34 percent during the same week to close at NT$1,840 (US$57.55). The decline in TSMC’s share price resulted from volatility in global tech stocks, driven by rising international crude oil prices as the war against Iran continues. Dealers said
Taiwan’s natural gas supply remains stable through the end of May, despite rising concerns about potential disruptions to Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan has completed preparations for natural gas supply and shipping schedules through the end of May. It has also made plans to increase natural gas imports from regions outside the Middle East in June to ensure a stable supply, it added. Taiwan sources natural gas from 14 countries and is not solely dependent on the Middle East,
China is clamping down on fertilizer exports to protect its domestic market, industry sources said, putting an additional strain on global markets that were already grappling with shortages caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. China is among the largest fertilizer exporters — shipping more than US$13 billion of it last year — and it has a history of controlling exports to keep prices low for farmers. Shipments through the war-blocked Strait of Hormuz account for about one-third of the sea-borne supply. This month, Beijing banned exports of nitrogen-potassium fertilizer blends and certain phosphate varieties, sources said. The ban, which has not
Grab Holdings Ltd agreed to buy Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda operations in Taiwan for US$600 million, a deal that marks its first foray outside of its Southeast Asian base. The cash acquisition will allow Grab to expand into 21 cities across Taiwan, the Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery company said in a statement yesterday. Grab expects the transaction to be completed in the second half, subject to regulatory approvals. The purchase will give Grab a presence on the island of about 23 million people, helping it to expand beyond its intensely competitive home market. Grab has seen growth slow dramatically as it takes
RSS