SoftBank’s CEO banks on India, says it can overtake US in next 25 years

Chairman of Japan’s SoftBank Group, Masayoshi Son, said India and China will fight for number one and two positions after overtaking the United States this century.

The billionaire chairman backed India, saying the country’s economy is on the cusp of the "hockey stick" curve before takeoff, and has the potential to overtake the United States within 25 years. He backed his conviction with money to make such an outcome a reality.

Son, 57, who has pledged to invest a total of $30 billion (Rs 1.9 lakh crore) in India so far, told Economic Times in an interview that he is interested in participating in India’s hockey stick moment.

"I would like to participate in this exciting moment, as we participated in China's hockey stick moment," he said, referring to the shape of the growth curve of the Middle Kingdom's economy.

"That's why I am not just saying these beautiful words, but I am saying it with the money. I am really interested in participating in India's hockey stick moment," said Son.

Son, who is on his second India visit, added that the country today had the right leader that "you should be proud of."

He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. He is due to meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

SoftBank along with India's Bharti Group and China's Foxconn announced plans to invest $20 billion into India's renewable energy sector.
The financial daily reported that last October, Son committed to invest $10 billion in Indian startups over the next few years and has already pumped in nearly $1 billion in three startups - Snapdeal, Ola and Housing.com - so far.

Some investors backing Indian startups feel SoftBank's entry has led to a gold rush, and helped foster unrealistic ecommerce valuations.

Son told ET he was happy with the progress the Indian investments were making, and was always open to "continuous support, including new investments" in these firms.

When asked if he agreed with the assessment of many experts that there was a valuation bubble building up, Son said in some cases, valuations were rising "little too fast and too big".

"India is increasing in value a little bit quicker than anticipated. But this is still the beginning of the internet revolution, and I'm very happy with our family companies' progress," he said.

"Some kind of correction will always happen. But it depends on the specific companies. Some companies are still growing very quickly, and justify the valuations. But some are inflated. But who is right and wrong, will be proven five or 10 years later," said the diminutive and soft-spoken tycoon in the course of the nearly hour-long interview. Son is Japan's second richest man with an estimated personal fortune of $14.1 billion.

Talking about telecom sector, Son, one of the world's early Internet entrepreneurs who is famous for sometimes setting outlandish goals - "my style is to have a big vision, a big commitment" - said the Internet was his main passion.

"Renewables is part of social responsibility, but the information revolution is the only main thing I am interested in," he said, as he played down the possibility of Soft-Bank, a major player in the telecom business in Japan and the US, also looking at India's telecom sector.
He said India's telecom sector already had "enough number of players", and when suggested that the market was ripe for a consolidator in the form of SoftBank, Son added with a laugh: "I am busy now."

(Image: Reuters)